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IRRIGATION  WORKS 


CONSTRUCTED  BY  THE 

• 

UNITED  STATES  GOVERNMENT 


BY  ARTHUR  POWELL  DAVIS 

CHIEF  ENGINEER,  U.  S.   RECLAMATION  SERVICE 


FIRST    EDITION 


NEW  YORK 

JOHN  WILEY  &  SONS,  INC. 

LONDON:  CHAPMAN  &  HALL,  LIMITED 

1917 


71990 


COPYRIGHT,  1917 
BY  ARTHUR  P.  DAVIS 


PUBLISHERS  PRINTING  COMPANY 

207-217  West  Twenty-fifth  Street.  New  York 


TC. 


£)efcicate&  to 

JOHN   W.   POWELL, 

THE   FAR-SEEING    PHILOSOPHER; 

FRANCIS  G.  NEWLANDS, 

THE   CONSTRUCTIVE    STATESMAN;   AND 

FREDERICK  H.  NEWELL, 

THE    FAITHFUL   ADMINISTRATOR; 

THE    PIONEERS  WHO   BLAZED   THE  WAY 

FOR   THE   BENEFICENT   WORK   OF 

NATIONAL  RECLAMATION 


PREFACE 

AGRICULTURE  by  irrigation  is  one  of  the  oldest  occupations 
of  civilized  man.  Various  parts  of  the  world  show  evidences  that 
irrigation  was  practised  long  before  any  historical  record  was 
kept.  The  remains  of  prehistoric  irrigation  works  have  been 
identified  and  extensively  traced  in  southern  Arizona  along  the 
Salt  River  and  in  parts  of  New  Mexico  and  California. 

American  Irrigation  was  left  entirely  to  private  and  corporate 
enterprise  until  the  passage,  in  1902,  of  the  National  Reclamation 
Act,  which  has  been  amended  and  modified  from  time  to  time  by 
subsequent  acts. 

The  original  reclamation  act  provided  for  the  segregation  of 
the  receipts  from  the  sales  of  public  lands  in  the  sixteen  Western 
States  and  Territories  into  a  special  fund  to  be  known  as  the 
Reclamation  Fund  and  to  be  available  for  the  survey,  construc- 
tion, and  operation  of  reclamation  projects  in  those  States.  It 
provided  that  the  cost  of  those  projects  should  be  returned  to 
the  Reclamation  Fund  by  the  owners  of  private  land  or  entry- 
men  on  public  land  in  ten  annual  installments,  no  requirement  of 
interest  being  made.  A  subsequent  act  in  1914  extended  this 
time  to  twenty  years.  The  original  act  required  the  expendi- 
ture of  the  major  portion  of  the  funds  in  the  States  in  which  it 
had  been  received.  Under  this  act  about  one  hundred  million 
dollars  have  been  expended  in  construction,  and  twenty-five 
projects  are  now  in  operation  and  prepared  to  deliver  water 
to  about  one  million  five  hundred  thousand  acres  of  land,  about 
two-thirds  of  which  was  actually  irrigated  in  1916. 

The  projects  undertaken,  unlike  the  early  simple  diversions 
upon  valleys  adjacent  to  the  head  works,  involved,  on  the  contrary, 
expensive  storage  works,  high  diversion  dams,  difficult  tunnels, 
or  long,  expensive  canal  work  upon  side  hills,  where  large  invest- 
ment was  necessary  before  any  water  was  brought  to  the  land. 
Many  projects  discussed  in  the  early  days  of  the  reclamation 
work  were  rejected  by  the  Reclamation  Service  because  they 


Vlll  PREFACE 

were  deemed  within  the  reach  of  private  investment.  Some  of 
those  same  projects  were  afterward  taken  up  by  the  Govern- 
ment after  years  of  unsuccessful  effort  to  enlist  private  capital 
in  their  construction. 

Inasmuch  as  all  expenses  connected  with  this  work  are 
charged  to  the  water  users,  care  is  taken  to  incur  no  expendi- 
ture not  absolutely  necessary  for  the  work,  and  this  rule  applied 
to  the  publication  of  annual  reports  excludes  everything  not 
absolutely  required  by  law,  consequently  excluding  the  engi- 
neering descriptions  of  the  work  and  the  illustrations  which  this 
would  require.  It  is  the  object  of  the  present  work  to  supply 
this  need  for  the  information  of  the  engineering  profession,  and 
of  statesmen  and  others  interested  in  the  development  of  the 
arid  lands. 


LIST  OF  ILLUSTRATIONS 


SALT  RIVER  PROJECT 

FIGURE  PAGE 

1.  Roosevelt  Dam,  looking  north Frontispiece 

2.  Analysis  of  Roosevelt  Darn 11 

3.  Rock-cut  on  Mountain  Road,  Salt  River 15 

4.  Analysis  of  Granite  Reef  Dam 22 

5.  Granite  Reef  Dam,  in  flood,  looking  north 25 

6.  Concrete  Flume  on  Crosscut  Power  Canal 29 

YUMA  PROJECT 

7.  Plan  and  Section  of  Laguna  Dam 34 

8.  Plan  and  Elevation  of  Sluice  Gates 36 

9.  Plan  and  Section  of  Siphon  Spillway 41 

10.  California  Regulating  Gates  and  Sluice  Gates 43 

11.  Reservation  Heading,  where  the  Yuma  Main  Canal  and  Reservation 

Canal  join 45 

12.  Interior  of  Yuma  Tunnel,  under  construction 47 

13.  Colorado  River  Levee,  showing  spur  dikes  of  brush 51 

ORLAXD  PROJECT 

14.  East  Park  Dam 54 

15.  East  Park  Reservoir  Spillway 56 

16.  Diversion  Dam,  East  Park  Feed  Canal 53 

17.  Fishway  at  Diversion  Dam 60 

GRAND  VALLEY  PROJECT 

18.  View  of  Rolling  Dam,  Grand  River,  Colorado 64 

19.  Headgates,  Grand  Valley  Canal 67 

20.  Section  through  body  of  70-foot  roller 68 

21.  Section  driven  End  of  70-foot  roller 69 

UXCOMPAHGRE  PROJECT 

22.  Profile  of  Gunnison  Tunnel 75 

23.  Tunnel  Sections  in  Rock 77 

24.  Tunnel  in  Shale  and  Gravel 79 

25.  Interior  of  Gunnison  Tunnel 81 

26.  West  Portal  Gunnison  Tunnel 84 

27.  Concrete  Chute  in  South  Canal 85 

28.  Lined  Section,  South  Canal 87 

29.  Headworks,  Montrose  and  Delta  Canal,  looking  down-stream  .      .  89 

30.  Happy  Canyon  Flume 90 

31.  Laying  High  Mesa  Pressure  Pipe 92 

ix 


X  LIST   OF   ILLUSTRATIONS 

BOISE  PROJECT 

FIGURE  PAGE 

32.  Power  plant  and  headworks,  Boise  Main  Canal 99 

33.  Steel  Flume  crossing  Eight  Mile  Creek 101 

34.  Discharge  of  Boise  Main  Canal  into  Deer  Flat  Reservoir      ...  103 

35.  Upper  Deer  Flat  Embankment 105 

36.  Lower  Deer  Flat  Embankment 107 

37.  Upper  Deer  Flat  Embankment,  showing  beaching  of  gravel  slope  .  110 

38.  Curves  of  seepage  of  Deer  Flat  Reservoir 112 

39.  Plan  of  Arrowrock  Dam 114 

40.  Elevation  of  Arrowrock  Dam 115 

41.  Maximum  Section  of  Arrowrock  Dam 116 

42.  Section  of  Balanced  Valve,  Arrowrock  Dam 119 

43.  Arrowrock  Dam,  looking  up-stream 121 

44.  Atrowrock  Dam,  looking  down-stream 125 

45.  Steel  Forms  and  reinforcement  for  concrete  pressure  pipe     .      .      .  129 

46.  Removing  inside  steel  forms  from  concrete  pressure  pipe.      .      .      .  131 

47.  Manhole  and  concrete  collars  on  pressure  pipe 133 

MINIDOKA  PROJECT 

48.  Spillway  of  Minidoka  Dam.     Power  House  in  distance    ....  136 

49.  Jackson  Lake  Dam 139 

50.  Scoop  Wheel,  lifting  water  3K  feet 146 

HUNTLEY  PROJECT 

51.  Sections  of  Canal  and  Tunnels 155 

52.  Drawings  of  Direct  Pumping  Station 157 

53.  Wasteway  Gates  and  Portal  of  Tunnel  No.  3,  Huntley  Project        .  159 

54.  Concrete  Flume  over  Huntley  Main  Canal 160 

55.  Super-passage  at  Custer  Coulee 161 

LOWER  YELLOWSTONE  PROJECT 

56.  Part  Plan  and  Section,  Lower  Yellowstone  Dam 164 

57.  Headgates  and  Dam,  Lower  Yellowstone  Canal 166 

58.  South  Side  Abutment,  Lower  Yellowstone    Dam,  with  portion  of 

main  darn 169 

59.  Burns  Creek  Super-passage,  Lower  Yellowstone  Canal     .      .      .      .  171 

60.  Outlet  End  of  Crane  Creek  Sluiceway,  Showing  Taintor  Gates.      .  172 

NORTH  PLATTE  PROJECT 

61.  Plan  of  Pathfinder  Dam 175 

62.  Elevation  and  Section  of  Pathfinder  Dam 177 

63.  Pathfinder  Dam,  looking  up-stream 183 

64.  Plan  and  Elevation  of  Whalen  Diversion  Dam 186 

65.  Plan  and  Elevation  of  Headworks,  Interstate  Canal 188 

66.  Whalen  Dam  and  Headworks,  Interstate  Canal 190 

67.  Typical  Section  of  Minitare  Dam  191 


LIST   OF   ILLUSTRATIONS  XI 
FIGURE                                                                                                                                                    PAGE 

68.  Spring  Canyon  Flume,  Interstate  Canal 195 

69.  Entrance  to  Rawhide  Siphon,  North  Platte  Project 196 

70.  Flight  of  Drops.     Baffle  posts  in  foreground 198 

TRUCKEE-CARSON  PROJECT 

71.  Headworks,  Main  Truckee  Canal 203 

72.  Wasteway  Gates,  Main  Truckee  Canal 205 

73.  Plan  of  Lahontan  Storage  Dam 207 

74.  Sections  of  Lahontan  Dam 211 

75.  Outlet  Works,  Lahontan  Dam 216 

76.  Lahontan  Dam,  looking  up-stream.    Power  House  in  foreground  .  219 

77.  Headworks,  Lower  Carson  Canal 223 

RIO  GRANDE  PROJECT 

78.  Leasburg  Diversion  Dam,  Plan  and  Section 235 

79.  Section  of  Elephant  Butte  Dam 238 

80.  Cutoff  Trench,  heel  of  Elephant  Butte  Dam 242 

81.  Diversion  Flume  and  Foundation,  Elephant  Butte  Dam     .      .      .  244 

82.  Elephant  Butte  Dam,  Cableways  and  Mixing  Plant       ....  247 

83.  Cylinder  drop,  on  Franklin  Canal 252 

UMATILLA  PROJECT 

84.  Lined  portion  of  Feed  Canal 255 

85.  Cold  Springs  Dam  and  Outlet  Tower 259 

86.  Drop  from  the  Main  Canal 264 

87.  Plan  and  Elevation,  Three  Miles  Falls  Dam 266 

88.  Three  Miles  Falls  Diversion  Dam 268 

KLAMATH  PROJECT 

89.  Clear  Lake  Rockfill  Dam 271 

90.  Lost  River  Diversion  Works 273 

91.  Lost  River  Diversion  Dam 274 

92.  Headworks,  Main  Canal 275 

93.  Keno  Canal  Spillway 276 

BELLE  FOURCHE  PROJECT 

94.  Headgates,  Belle  Fourche  Feed  Canal 279 

95.  Sections  of  Belle  Fourche  Storage  Dam 288 

STRAWBERRY  VALLEY  PROJECT 

96.  Spillway  of  Power  Canal  in  Winter 292 

97.  Elevation  and  Cross-Section  of  Strawberry  Dam 294 

98.  Strawberry  Dam  and  Spillway,  looking  south 297 

99.  Intake  of  Indian  Creek  Feed  Canal 301 

100.  Intake  of  Strawberry  Tunnel  at  East  Portal,  north  end  of  Reservoir     302 

101.  Cross-Sections,  Strawberry  Tunnel 304 


xii  LIST   OF   ILLUSTRATIONS 

FIGURE                                                         ,  PAGE 

102.  Strawberry  Tunnel,  Controlling  Works 305 

103.  Flow  of  water  in  Strawberry  Tunnel 306 

104.  Strawberry  Tunnel,  showing  steel  forms  for  concrete  lining       .      .  308 

105.  Measuring  Weir  and  West  Portal,  Strawberry  Tunnel    ....  309 

OKANOGAN  PROJECT 

106.  Longitudinal  and  Cross-Sections,  Conconnully  Dam 312 

107.  Trestles  on  Conconnully   Dam,    showing   method    of    hydraulic 

construction 315 

108.  Conconnully  Dam  and  Spillway 317 

109.  Salmon  River  Diversion  Weir 320 

110.  Main  Canal  concrete  lined 322 

111.  General  view  of  orchards  on  Okanogan  Project 323 

YAKIMA  PROJECT 

112.  Profile  and  Sections  of  Bumping  Lake  Dam 329 

113.  Spillway,  Bumping  Lake  Dam 331 

114.  Section  Kachess  Dam 335 

115.  Tunnel  and  Canal  Sections,  Tieton  Main  Canal 345 

116.  Sandbox  and  transition  to  lined  section,  Tieton  Main  Canal     .      .  348 

117.  Tieton  Main  Canal,  lined  section 351 

118.  Steel  Flume,  Tieton  Distribution  System 357 

119.  Plan  and  Sections,  Sunnyside  Diversion  Dam 361 

120.  Dam  and  Headgate,  Sunnyside  Canal .      .  364 

121.  Sulphur  Creek  Wasteway,  Head  works  and  Drop 369 

122.  Steel  Bridge  and  wood  stave  pressure   pipe   near  Prosser,  Wash- 

ington        372 

123.  Young  irrigated  orchard,  Yakima  Valley 375 

SHOSHONE  PROJECT 

124.  Section  and  Elevation  of  Shoshone  Dam 379 

125.  Foundation  and  Abutment  of  Shoshone  Dam 381 

126.  View  of  Shoshone  Dam 382 

127.  Corbett  Diversion  Dam  and  Sluiceway 385 

128.  Outlet  Gate  Structure,  Ralston  Reservoir .388 


TABLE  OF  CONTENTS 


CHAPTER  PAGE 

PREFACE vii 

I.    INTRODUCTION 1 

II.     SALT  RIVER  PROJECT. 

History 6 

Roosevelt  Reservoir 7 

Area  and  Capacity. 8 

Roosevelt  Dam 8 

Cement  Mill 10 

Manufacture  of  Sand 13 

Power  Development 16 

Granite  Reef  Diversion  Dam 22 

Canal  Systems 26 

Joint  Head  Diversion  Dam 31 

Water  Delivery 33 

III.  YUMA  PROJECT. 

Description 34 

Laguna  Dam 34 

Canal  System 39 

Main  Canal 42 

Yuma  Pressure  Conduit 44 

Yuma  Valley  Canals 48 

Lateral  System 49 

Levee  System 50 

Drainage 52 

IV.  ORLAND  PROJECT. 

Relation  to  Sacramento  Project 53  ' 

East  Park  Reservoir 54 

Feed  Canal 57 

Miller  Buttes  Diversion 59 

Distribution  System 60 

Delivery  of  Water 61 

V.     GRAND  VALLEY  PROJECT. 

Origin  and  History 63 

Description 65 

Grand  River  Dam 66 

Main  Canal 69 

Lateral  System 73 

xiii 


xiv  TABLE    OF   CONTENTS 

CHAPTER  PAGE 

VI.     UNCOMPAHGRE  PROJECT. 

Description 74 

Gunnison  Tunnel 74 

Diversion  Dam ^ 82 

Canal  Systems 82 

Settlement  of  Shale  Foundations 86 

Iron  Pressure  Pipe 91 

Taylor  Park  Reservoir 93 

VII.     BOISE  PROJECT. 

Description 96 

Boise  Diversion  Dam 97 

Boise  Main  Canal 100 

Deer  Flat  Reservoir 104 

Slope  Protection 109 

Seepage  Losses Ill 

Arrowrock  Reservoir 113 

Control  Works 118 

Construction  of  Arrowrock  Dam 120 

Canal  System "  127 

Drainage  Work 132 

VIII.     MINIDOKA  PROJECT. 

General  Outline 135 

Alinidoka  Dam 135 

Storage  System 140 

Hydro-Electric  System 141 

Pumping  Stations 143 

Commercial  Power  Substations 146 

Canal  System         148 

Drainage 151 

Water  Delivery 153 

IX.     HUNTLEY  PROJECT. 

Description 154 

Canal  System 154 

Agricultural  Results 159 

Drainage 160 

Water  Delivery 162 

X.     LOWER  YELLOWSTONE  PROJECT. 

Description 163 

Main  Canal      . 163 

Diversion  Dam 165 

Agricultural  Results 170 

XI.     NORTH  PLATTE  PROJECT. 

Description 173 

Interstate  Canal 173 

Pathfinder  Dam    .  174 


TABLE    OF   CONTENTS  XV 

CHAPTER  PAGE 

XI.     NORTH  PLATTE  PROJECT — Continued. 

Pathfinder  Dike    .......     ^ 187 

Whalen  Diversion  Dam 187 

Minitare  Dam 189 

Sale  of  Storage  Rights 194 

Agricultural  Results 197 

Fort  Laramie  Unit 197 

XII.     TRUCKEE-C  ARSON  PROJECT. 

Description 200 

Lake  Tahoe  Storage  Works 201 

Truekee  Main  Canal 202 

Lahontan  Reservoir 206 

Carson  Diversion  Dam 222 

XIII.  CARLSBAD  PROJECT. 

Description 225 

Destruction  and  Purchase 226 

Reconstruction 227 

Drainage 230 

XIV.  HONDO  PROJECT. 

Description 231 

XV.     Rio  GRANDE  PROJECT. 

Description 234 

Leasburg  Diversion  Dam 236 

Elephant  Butte  Reservoir 237 

Mesilla  Diversion  Dam 251 

XVI.     UMATILLA  PROJECT. 

Description 254 

Storage  Feed  Canal    . 255 

Cold  Springs  Dam 256 

Distribution  System 261 

West  Extension 265 

Three  Mile  Falls  Diversion  Dam 265 

XVII.     KLAMATH  PROJECT. 

Description 270 

Main  Canal 270 

Clear  Lake  Reservoir 271 

Lost  River  Diversion 272 

Keno  Power  Canal 274 

Klamath  Marshes 277 

XVIII.     BELLE  FOURCHE  PROJECT. 

Description 278 

Diversion  Dam  and  Feed  Canal 278 

Belle  Fourche  Reservoir  .    - 280 

Construction  of  Owl  Creek  Dam 281 


XVI 


TABLE    OF   CONTENTS 


CHAPTER  PAGE 

XVIII.     BELLE  FOURCHE  PROJECT — Continued. 

Pavement  of  Owl  Creek  Dam 283 

North  Canal 286 

South  Canal 287 

Agricultural  Results 289 

XIX.     STRAWBERRY  VALLEY  PROJECT. 

Description 291 

Power  Development 291 

Spanish  Fork  Diversion  Dam 293 

Strawberry  Reservoir 294 

Strawberry  Valley  Dam 299 

Indian  Creek  Dike 299 

Feed  Canals 258 

Strawberry  Tunnel 300 

Distribution 307 

XX.    OKANOGAN  PROJECT. 

Description 311 

Conconnully  Reservoir 311 

Conconnully  Dam 311 

Spillway 318 

Distribution 319 

Water  Delivery 324 

XXI.    YAKIMA  PROJECT. 

General  Statement 325 

Bumping  Lake  Dam 327 

Kachess  Dam 333 

TietonUnit 342 

Sunnyside  Unit 359 

Enlargement 360 

Pressure  Pipes 371 

XXII.     SHOSHONE  PROJECT. 

Description            .x 377 

Shoshone  Reservoir 378 

Corbett  Diversion 384 

Drainage 386 


XXIII.     SETTLEMENT  AND  CULTIVATION    . 


.     391 


IRRIGATION  WORKS  CONSTRUCTED 
BY  U.  S.  GOVERNMENT 

CHAPTER  I 
INTRODUCTION 

As  a  modern  activity  of  the  Caucasian  race,  irrigation  in  the 
United  States  on  any  considerable  scale  seems  to  have  had  its 
beginning  in  Utah  in  the  settlement  of  the  Salt  Lake  Valley. 
The  early  settlements  of  California,  New  Mexico,  and  other  arid 
States  extended  the  practice  of  the  early  Spaniards  and  the 
Indians,  and  irrigation  developed  along  with  the  slow  settlement 
of  these  then  remote  regions. 

During  the  early  history  of  irrigation  farmers  and  groups  of 
farmers  naturally  confined  their  efforts  mainly  to  diverting  small 
streams  upon  adjacent  valleys  where  the  slope  of  the  country 
and  the  topography  were  such  as  to  make  the  work  easy  and 
cheap.  With  the  values  of  land  then  existing  no  expensive  enter- 
prise was  practicable.  Such  development  proceeding  for  nearly 
half  a  century,  widely  distributed  over  the  arid  region,  irrigated 
in  the  aggregate  a  very  large  area  of  land.  The  farmers  em- 
ployed the  cheapest  class  of  construction  and  seldom  counted 
their  own  tune  in  computing  costs,  which  are  hence  reported 
very  low. 

A.S  land  values  increased  and  the  easier  projects  had  been 
developed,  more  difficult  ones  were  taken  up,  sometimes  success- 
fully and  sometimes  not.  As  the  difficult  problems  were  attacked, 
corporate  capital  and  the  district  system  were  employed,  and 
such  projects  as  they  could  handle  were  gradually  developed. 
The  inherent  difficulties,  however,  did  not  admit  of  much  profit 
to  the  investor.  In  fact,  in  a  majority  of  the  cases,  the  investors 
lost  a  large  part  of  their  capital,  to  say  nothing  of  interest  and 
profits,  and  though  the  general  benefits  in  the  development  of 
the  country  were  great  and  lasting,  the  losses  made  it  more  and 
more  difficult  to  enlist  private  capital  in  further  irrigation  enterprise. 

1 


2  INTRODUCTION 

Various  laws  were  passed  from  time  to  time  to  encourage  the 
irrigation  of  arid  lands,  the  desert-land  act  and  the  Carey  Act, 
with  their  various  modifications,  being  the  most  conspicuous 
examples,  depending  upon  the  investment  of  private  or  corporate 
capital  for  actual  construction. 

The  increasing  difficulty  of  carrying  out  many  large  projects 
led  to  the  passage  in  1902  of  the  reclamation  act,  with  the  avowed 
and  widely  heralded  object  of  enlisting  national  funds  for  the 
development  of  projects  not  feasible  by  private,  corporate,  dis- 
trict, or  State  enterprise.  This  policy,  avowed  in  Congress  and 
announced  repeatedly  by  the  President,  was  followed  by  the 
Reclamation  Service. 

The  projects  undertaken,  unlike  the  early  simple  diversions 
upon  valleys  adjacent  to  the  head  works,  involved,  on  the  con- 
trary, expensive  storage  works,  high  diversion  dams,  difficult 
tunnels,  or  long,  expensive  canal  work  upon  side  hills,  where 
large  investment  was  necessary  before  any  water  was  brought 
to  the  land.  Many  projects  discussed  in  the  early  days  of  the 
reclamation  work  were  rejected  by  the  Reclamation  Service  be- 
cause they  were  deemed  within  the  reach  of  private  investment. 
Some  of  those  same  projects  were  afterward  taken  up  by  the 
Government  after  years  of  unsuccessful  effort  to  enlist  private 
capital  in  their  construction. 

Practically  all  of  the  projects  undertaken  by  the  Reclamation 
Service  had  been  abandoned  after  unsuccessful  attempts  to  finance 
them  as  private  projects,  or  else  were  new  projects  so  difficult  as 
not  to  attract  even  the  attention  of  promoters. 

Prior  to  the  passage  of  the  reclamation  act  the  hydrographic 
branch  of  the  Geological  Survey  had  undertaken  surveys  of  some 
of  the  larger  and  more  intricate  projects  suggested  and  had  made 
some  stream  measurements  to  shed  light  upon  their  feasibility. 
After  the  passage  of  the  reclamation  act  this  work  was  greatly 
expanded  and  data  were  rapidly  accumulated  from  which  proj- 
ects were  outlined  and  estimates  made,  mainly  in  the'  years 
1902,  1903,  and  1904.  By  this  time  the  program  had  become 
crystallized,  by  which  one  or  more  projects  in  nearly  all  pf  the 
arid  States  had  been  undertaken  or  examined  with  a  view  to  their 
early  construction.  The  estimates  upon  which  these  projects 
were  based  were  necessarily  the  accumulated  experience  upon 
work  of  a  similar  kind  which  had  been  carried  out  within  the 


RESULTS   OF   RECLAMATIQN  3 

previous  decade.  The  estimates  were,  therefore,  made  upon 
the  basis  of  work  clone  during  the  period  of  depression  and  low 
prices  from  1892  to  1902.  The  estimates  were  made  at  a  time 
when  the  country  was  entering  upon  a  period  of  rising  prices, 
which,  however,  was  not  foreseen  by  those  concerned.  The 
result  was  that  the  years  1905,  1906,  1907,  and  1908,  in  which 
most  of  the  construction  work  was  done,  were  coincident  with  a 
great  boom  in  railroad  construction  throughout  the  West,  the 
reconstruction  of  the  City  of  San  Francisco  after  the  fire,  and  a 
corresponding  expansion  of  other  construction  work  throughout 
the  arid  regions.  Unavoidably,  therefore,  much  of  the  work 
cost  more  than  could  have  been  foreseen  from  the  experience  of 
the  previous  decade.  The  increased  cost  of  living  during  the 
past  two  decades  is  a  rough  index  to  the  increased  cost  of  con- 
struction. The  cost  of  railroad  and  irrigation  work  carried  out 
by  private  enterprise  in  the  West  increased  in  the  same  period 
from  50  to  100  per  cent. 

The  work  so  far  has  resulted  in  the  provision  of  reservoirs, 
carriage  and  distributing  systems,  and  other  works  by  which 
the  United  States  is  prepared  to  deliver  water  to  1,680,000  acres 
of  land,  of  which  950,000  were  actually  irrigated  by  settlers  in 
1916,  and  this  area  is  considerably  increased  during  the  present 
year.  The  annual  product  of  this  acreage  is  estimated  at  over 
822,000,000,  and  a  large  number  of  prosperous  homes  have  been 
established  and  many  towns  and  villages  have  sprung  up. 

The  Reclamation  Service  has  had  an  exceptional  opportunity 
for  developing  and  trying  on  a  large  scale  many  ideas  and  methods 
in  hydraulic  construction.  While  it  has  endeavored  to  be  con- 
servative in  everything  which  involves  risk,  yet,  wherever  pos- 
sible, the  effort  has  been  made  to  adopt  the  latest  and  best  in 
design  and  construction. 

The  question  may  be  raised  at  the  outset  whether  these  works, 
built  with  funds  provided  by  the  Government,  are  of  such  char- 
acter that  they  can  be  considered  as  typical  or  suggestive  for 
private  or  corporate  effort.  In  answer  to  this  it  may  properly 
be  claimed  that  although  large  funds  were  available,  yet  in  the 
organization  and  conduct  of  the  work,  from  its  initiation,  every 
reasonable  safeguard  was  adopted  to  secure  economy  and  effi- 
ciency in  construction.  A  system  of  cost  keeping  was  instituted 
fully  up  with  the  times,  and  the  engineers  in  charge  of  the  work 


4  ^  INTRODUCTION 

at  all  times  have  felt  a  professional  and  personal  pride  in  showing 
that  they  could,  and  did,  execute  these  difficult  operations  in 
remote  localities  and  under  pioneer  conditions  not  only  well, 
but  economically.  It  is  true  that  in  any  public  work  there  are 
certain  conditions  inseparably  connected  with  Governmental 
methods  which  tend  to  add  to  the  cost,  such,  for  example,  as 
those  growing  out  of  changing  administrations  with  varying 
policies — frequent  and  often  unfriendly  investigations,  the  delays 
which  result  from  legal  complications  and  the  imperfectly  devised 
civil  service  employment  schemes,  the  complications  in  the  auditing 
and  handling  of  public  funds,  and  because  of  many  other  con- 
ditions which  result  from  the  fact  that  in  Government  work 
clerical  and  legal  details  are  often  more  highly  esteemed  than 
ultimate  results,  or,  as  popularly  expressed,  "Efficiency  is  held 
down  by  red  tape." 

Notwithstanding  this  condition,  which  under  the  peculiar 
organization  of  the  Reclamation  Service  has  been  kept  to  a  mini- 
mum, the  engineers  and  others  connected  with  this  work  feel  a 
proper  pride  not  only  in  its  performance,  but  in  the  economy 
with  which  the  work  as  a  whole  has  been  performed. 

One  of  the  most  notable  features  connected  with  this  work, 
from  the  standpoint  of  organization,  is  the  fact  that  these  works 
are  widely  distributed.  The  engineering  features  of  the  Reclama- 
tion Service  presented  greater  difficulties  than  most  large  works 
because  of  their  variety  and  wide  distribution  throughout  the 
Western  part  of  the  United  States.  Each  project  had  its  peculiar 
problems  and  required  special  and  individual  treatment.  The 
work  was  not  an  enlargement  or  duplication  of  units  and  organi- 
zation on  a  grand  scale,  where  one  man  could  see  nearly  every 
part  of  the  work  in  a  day,  but,  on  the  contrary,  was  of  such  a 
nature  that  no  one  man  could  see  all  of  the  important  features 
even  in  continuous  travel  for  months. 

A  serious  handicap  to  the  prompt  construction  of  reclamation 
projects  authorized  by  the  law  of  1902  was  the  paucity  of 
data  concerning  the  water  supply  upon  which  they  must 
depend. 

A  considerable  amount  of  data  had  been  collected  by  the 
hydrographic  branch  of  the  Geological  Survey  in  the  decade  pre- 
vious to  the  passage  of  the  Act,  but  the  greater  part  of  this  was 
in  the  East,  to  which  the  Reclamation  Law  did  not  apply. 


DATA    AND    PRECEDENTS  5 

The  relatively  small  amount  of  data  on  stream  flow  that  did 
exist  in  the  West  was,  however,  invaluable  so  far  as  it  went,  and 
constituted  practically  the  only  available  water  data  upon  which 
to  undertake  these  works.  The  topographic  maps  of  the  Geological 
Survey  were  of  great  value  wherever  they  existed,  but  these  again 
were  completed  for  only  a  small  portion  of  the  arid  regions. 

The  so-called  irrigation  branch  of  the  Geological  Survey  in 
1889  and  1890  made  a  few  preliminary  investigations  of  proposed 
irrigation  projects,  but  these  were  scarcely  started  before  they 
were  stopped  for  lack  of  appropriation,  and  very  little  of  the  data 
collected  thereby  could  be  used,  except  the  stream  measurements 
and  topographic  maps  above  referred  to. 

The  work  laid  out  for  the  Reclamation  Service  was  nearly 
unprecedented.  While  a  considerable  area  of  lands  had  been 
irrigated  in  the  West,  this  was  confined  mainly  to  the  diversion 
of  the  natural  flow  of  small  streams  in  open  valleys,  and  the  new 
work  contemplated  was  intended  to  develop  those  works  which 
were  more  difficult,  requiring  much  heavy  construction,  high 
diversion  dams,  tunnels,  long  side-hill  canals  through  rough 
country,  and  large  storage  reservoirs. 

Practically  the  only  existing  precedents  were  a  few  private 
works  crudely  built  and  mostly  failures  through  lack  of  necessary 
capital,  and  a  few  municipal  reservoirs  adjacent  to  large  cities 
in  various  parts  of  the  world.  These  latter,  however,  owing  to 
the  high  value  of  water  for  domestic  use,  were  not  confined  to 
the  limitations  of  cost  that  characterize  investments  for  irrigation, 
and  though  in  some  details  would  serve  as  engineering  precedents, 
they  were  more  often  misleading  than  valuable  precedents  in  an 
economic  sense. 

The  data  incorporated  in  this  work  are  obtained  from  personal 
acquaintance,  official  reports,  and  various  articles  written  by  the 
men  concerned. 

The  author  has  been  materially  assisted,  directly  or  indirectly, 
by  nearly  all  the  men  holding  responsible  positions  during  the 
last  ten  years  in  the  Reclamation  Service.  These  are  mentioned 
specifically  in  connection  with  the  work  with  which  they  were 
concerned,  but  more  general  acknowledgment  is  due  to  Professor 
F.  H.  Newell,  former  director  of  the  Reclamation  Service,  for 
valuable  co-operation  and  advice,  and  to  Mr.  E.  A.  Moritz,  who 
wrote  the  description  of  the  Sunnyside  Project  in  its  entirety. 


CHAPTER   II 
SALT  RIVER  PROJECT 

HISTORY 

Salt  River  Valley  is  that  territory  lying  adjacent  to  Salt  River, 
extending  from  the  point  where  it  emerges  from  the  mountains 
near  the  mouth  of  Verde  River,  its  principal  tributary,  to  the 
mouth  of  Salt  River,  where  it  joins  the  Gila.  Irrigation  on  a 
large  scale  was  carried  on  in  this  valley  in  prehistoric  times  by 
some  ancient  race,  whose  canal  lines  have  been  nearly  obliterated 
by  time,  being  now  discernible  with  difficulty.  The  river  has  a 
good  fall,  so  that  water  can  be  diverted  at  almost  any  point  and 
carried  diagonally  away  from  the  stream,  covering  considerable 
land  in  a  short  distance.  The  first  diversion  of  Salt  River  by  white 
men  was  in  1868,  through  the  Salt  River  Valley  Canal,  built  by 
Jack  Swilling  and  his  associates. 

The  canals  built  by  private  enterprise  are  listed  in  the  following 

table: 

PRINCIPAL  CANALS  OF  SALT  RIVER  VALLEY 


1      Length, 
Miles 

When  First 
Used 

North  Side 

47 

1885 

Grand 

27 

1878 

Maricopa  

26 

1868 

Salt  River  Valley  

19 

1868 

Farmers  

5 

St.  Johns  

!         12 

South  Side 
Highland 

90 

1889 

Consolidated 

40 

1894 

Old  Mesa 

10 

1878 

Utah 

20 

1877 

Tempe 

30 

1871 

San  Francisco 

6 

1871 

The  combined  capacity  of  these  canals  was  far  in  excess  of 
the  normal  low-water  flow  of  the  river,  their  construction  being 

6 


ROOSEVELT   RESERVOIR  7 

induced  by  a  superficial  consideration  of  the  series  of  years  of 
abnormally  high  run-off  between  1888  and  1897.  Following  that 
period  the  reverse  occurred,  a  period  of  abnormally  low  run-off, 
continuing  for  over  six  years,  and  this  drouth  led  to  the  death  of 
valuable  orchards,  vineyards,  and  alfalfa  fields,  and  to  active 
efforts  by  the  people  to  secure  the  construction  of  storage  reservoirs. 

In  1901  the  Legislature  of  Arizona  provided  for  preliminary 
investigations  of  the  feasibility  of  water  storage  on  upper  Salt 
River,  which  were  carried  out  in  co-operation  with  the  Geological 
Survey  under  direction  of  the  author  in  1901. 

The  first  report  on  preliminary  investigations  was  published 
as  water-supply  paper  No.  73  of  the  Geological  Survey.  This 
report  contemplated  the  construction  of  a  reservoir  with  county  or 
district  bonds,  and  it  was  therefore  necessary  to  plan  it  as  cheaply 
as  possible.  The  reservoir  there  proposed  was  about  one-half 
the  capacity  of  the  one  finally  built,  and  no  provision  was  made 
for  the  development  of  a  permanent  power  supply.  The  subse- 
quent availability  of  the  Reclamation  Fund  led  to  more  com- 
prehensive plans.  The  reservoir  was  planned  about  twice  as 
large  and  a  large  power  development  for  future  use  was  included. 

ROOSEVELT   RESERVOIR 

The  original  purpose  of  the  Reclamation  Service  was  simply 
to  build  a  large  reservoir,  leaving  the  companies  and  associations 
operating  the  canals  to  enlarge  and  extend  them  as  needed  for  the 
delivery  of  additional  water  supply.  A  great  flood  in  1905,  how- 
ever, destroyed  the  diversion  dam  and.  otherwise  injured  the 
works  of  the  Arizona  Water  Company,  which  controlled  all  the 
canals  on  the  north  side  of  Salt  River.  The  inability  of  the  com- 
pany to  repair  the  works  promptly  led  to  their  purchase  by  the 
Secretary  of  the  Interior,  who  thereby  undertook  to  reconstruct 
the  diversion  and  distribution  system. 

As  worked  out,  the  Salt  River  Project  includes  a  storage 
reservoir,  a  large  concrete  diverting  dam,  with  sluices  and  head- 
works  on  each  side  of  the  river,  a  complete  system  of  canals  and 
laterals  to  cover  over  200,000  acres  of  land,  a  power-plant  at  the 
Roosevelt  Dam  with  a  transmission  line  to  bring  the  power  to 
the  valley  below,  for  use  in  pumping  underground  waters  and 
for  other  purposes. 


SALT   RIVER    PROJECT 
AREA  AND  CAPACITY  OF  ROOSEVELT  RESERVOIR 


*  Depth,  Feet 

Surface, 
Acres 

Capacity,  in 
Acre  Feet 

10                   

24 
128 
224 
401 
694 
1,085 
1,458 
2,103 
2,930 
3,682 
4,391 
5,536 
6,394 
7,293 
8,411 
9,664 
10,769 
12,158 
13,459 
14,192 
15,260 
16,329 
16,832 
\ 

120 

880 
2,640 
5,765 
11,241 
20,135 
32,850 
50,655 
75,820 
108,880 
149.245 
198,880 
258,530 
326,965 
405,485 
495,860 
598,025 
712,660 
840,775 
979,000 
1,126,260 
1,284,200 
1,367,300 

20                                     

30                                     

40                                           

50                                  

60.. 
70.. 
80.. 
90.. 
100. 
110. 
120. 
130. 
140. 
150. 
160. 
170. 
180.  . 
190.  . 
200.  . 
210.  . 
220.  . 
225.. 

' 

*  Spillway  Crest  Elevation,  225. 

Roosevelt  Dam. — The  storage  dam  is  located  in  a  gorge  about 
72  miles  above  Phoenix,  just  below  the  junction  of  Tonto  Creek 
with  Salt  River.  It  submerges  a  portion  of  " Tonto  Basin,"  a 
region  long  famous  in  the  early  history  of  Arizona  as  a  refuge 
for  outlaws,  on  account  of  its  relative  inaccessibility.  It  is  sur- 
rounded in  all  directions  by  mountains  and  plateaus  scored  by 
numerous  profound  canyons,  Salt  River  itself  being  in  a  box 
canyon  for  a  distance  of  forty  miles  below,  and  a  greater  distance 
above,  this  point. 

The  dam  is  of  rubble  masonry  with  coursed  rubble  faces, 
laid  in  Portland  cement  mortar,  and  vertical  joints  filled  with 
concrete.  It  is  240  feet  in  height  above  the  natural  river-bed, 
and  the  foundation  is  carried  about  40  feet  below  that  point  to 
solid  rock.  Fifteen  feet  below  the  top  of  the  dam  is  a  spillway, 
to  carry  surplus  water  to  the  river-bed  well  below  the  dam.  The 
section  of  the  dam,  as  shown  in  Figure  1,  is  such  that,  considered  as 
a  gravity  structure,  the  limit  of  pressure  upon  the  base  is  18.9 
tons  per  square  foot  on  the  horizontal  joint.  The  dam  is  16  feet 


ROOSEVELT   DAM  9 

thick  at  top,  and  184  feet  thick  at  the  base.  In  addition  to  this, 
the  plan  of  the  dam  is  curved  on  a  radius  of  400  feet.  The  reservoir 
formed  by  the  dam  has  a  capacity  of  1,367,300  acre-feet,  and 
covers  16,832  acres.  It  submerges  a  road  leading  from  Tonto 
Basin  to  Globe,  and  this  is  replaced  by  providing  a  roadway 
over  the  top  of  the  dam,  concrete  bridges  across  the  spillways,  and 
long  approaches  cut  in  the  rock  hillsides. 

There  are  provisions  for  drawing  water  from  the  reservoir 
at  three  different  levels.  At  the  elevation  of  natural  low  water, 
a  tunnel  was  built  before  beginning  construction  of  the  dam  and 
used  for  diverting  the  river  during  construction.  This  tunnel 
is  curved  in  plan,  and  heads  120  feet  up-stream  from  the  dam, 
and  a  grillage  of  reinforced  concrete  in  the  form  of  a  tower  78  feet 
high  protects  it  from  driftwood.  In  the  tunnel  are  placed  six 
gates,  in  two  sets,  one  designed  for  regular  service  and  one  for 
emergency  use.  Each  gate  has  a  clear  opening  of  4^  by  9  feet. 
They  are  all  of  the  Stoney  type  on  bronze  rollers,  and  are  operated 
by  means  of  hydraulic  cylinders  placed  in  a  chamber  above.  The 
gate  stems  pass  through  stuffing  boxes  in  the  floor  of  this  chamber, 
which  is  seven  feet  in  thickness  and  built  of  reinforced  concrete. 
These  gates  were  placed  in  the  diversion  tunnel  in  the  early  stages 
of  dam  construction,  before  the  tunnel  was  lined.  Water  was 
discharged  through  these  gates  and  the  unlined  tunnel  for  nearly 
two  years  in  heads  varying  from  zero  to  100  feet,  and  afforded 
considerable  regulation  of  irrigation  water  as  the  dam  progressed, 
but  under  the  higher  heads  the  tunnel  showed  evidences  of  damage 
and  had  to  be  closed  for  repairs.  The  rock  of  the  tunnel  is  a 
stratified  quartzite  dipping  up-stream  at  an  angle  of  about  30 
degrees,  and  though  hard  and  sound,  the  water  had  attacked  the 
seams  and  crevices,  and  caused  a  large  amount  of  damage  to 
the  natural  rock  walls  just  below  the  gates.  It  had  also  attacked 
and  damaged  the  seats  of  the  upper  battery  of  gates  and  the 
piers  between,  and  carried  away  a  portion  of  the  bronze  roller 
trains.  The  lower  set.  of  gates  and  their  accessories  were  unin- 
jured. The  tunnel  was  repaired  with  concrete  and  steel,  and  the 
gates  again  put  in  commission.  It  is  not  the  intention  to  use 
this  tunnel  under  heads  exceeding  100  feet. 

After  the  reservoir  had  been  in  service  about  four  years,  the 
sluicing  tunnel  again  showed  signs  of  weakness,  and  it  was  decided 
to  place  a  bulkhead  back  of  the  sluice-gates  and  install  balanced 


10  SALT    RIVER    PROJECT 

valves  therein.  The  valves  are  of  the  Ensign  type  and  were 
installed  in  1915. 

About  75  feet  above  the  river-bed  is  an  opening  10  feet  in 
diameter,  forming  a  penstock  to  carry  water  under  pressure  from 
the  reservoir  to  the  power-house  which  adjoins  the  dam  on  the 
down-stream  side  of  the  left  abutment.  This  opening  is  controlled 
by  balanced  needle  valves. 

The  penstock  terminates  in  three  branches,  serving  three 
turbine  water-wheels  for  the  generation  of  electric  power. 

About  117  feet  above  the  river,  adjacent  to  the  right  abut- 
ment of  the  dam,  are  three  5-foot  cast-iron  pipes  passing  through 
the  dam  and  discharging  in  a  tunnel  9  feet  in  diameter,  excavated 
in  the  natural  rock  and  lined  with  concrete.  The  water  follows 
this  tunnel  about  100  feet  and  cascades  from  the  cliff  into  the 
canyon  below  the  dam.  The  pipes  and  also  the  penstock  men- 
tioned are  controlled  by  cylindrical  balanced  valves. 

Each  circular  opening  is  closed  by  a  cylindrical  plug  or  needle, 
with  a  casing  enclosing  it  on  the  up-stream  side,  in  which  it  works 
like  a  piston.  Water  leaks  between  the  piston  ring  and  the 
cylindrical  casing  till  the  chamber  is  filled,  when  the  greater 
area  on  that  side  of  the  piston  acts  to  push  the  plunger  to  its 
seat  with  a  velocity  dependent  upon  the  rate  of  the  above-men- 
tioned leakage.  A  small  pipe  communicates  with  the  casing 
behind  the  piston,  and  by  opening  a  valve  in  this  pipe  the  pressure 
on  that  side  is  relieved,  and  the  water  pressure  opens  the  plug, 
and  closing  the  valve  of  the  small  pipe  closes  the  plug. 

Cement  Mill. — The  difficulty  of  access  to  the  site  presented 
unusual  obstacles  to  the  construction  of  a  large  dam.  For  ex- 
ample, owing  to  the  long  haul  and  high  freights,  cement  in  car-load 
lots  at  Globe  was  costing  $7  per  barrel,  and  the  long  mountain 
haul  to  the  dam  site  would  increase  this  by  about  $2  per  barrel. 
Under  these  circumstances  investigations  were  made  to  determine 
the  feasibility  of  manufacturing  Portland  cement  at  the  site,  with 
the  result  that  a  mill  was  constructed  near  the  site,  which  manu- 
factured the  cement  required  at  about  one-third  the  above  prices. 

The  cement  was  manufactured  from  a  mixture  of  limestone 
and  clay  which  were  found  of  unusual  purity.  The  limestone 
occurred  in  a  thick  ledge,  sloping  upward  from  the  mill  site. 
The  clay  was  hauled  in  small  cars  1^4  miles.  The  limestone  was 
crushed  in  a  No.  4  gyratory  crusher,  which  delivered  the  crushed 


CEMENT   MILL 


11 


rock  to  a  30-foot  dryer,  in  which  wood  was  used.  The  clay 
was  crushed  in  a  rotary  crusher  which  delivered  it  to  a  40-foot 
dryer.  The  crushed  and  dried  rock  was  elevated  to  a  ball  mill 


G  »  Vertical  unit  stress  (pern)  * 

dam,  due  to  overturning  moment  of  watar  (at  level 
235),  resultant  awumed  at  edge  of  middle  third. 

G=  AUu  vertical  unit  stress  (perr)  at  i 


assumed  at  edge  of  middle  third. 

Both  values  of  G  are  figured  for  vertical  segment  of. 

dam  between  parallel  (not  radial)  plane*. 


FIG.  2. — Analysis  of  Roosevelt  Dam. 

and  the  clay  to  an  emery  mill.  After  passing  these  pulverizers, 
the  materials  were  carefully  weighed  in  the  proper  proportions 
and  ground  together  in  a  tube  or  pebble  mill  5  feet  in  diameter 
and  22  feet  long.  The  mixture  was  then  burned  in  two  rotary 
kilns,  70  feet  in  length.  The  fuel  used  was  crude  oil  from'  Cali- 
fornia, of  which  an  average  of  11  gallons  was  used  to  each  barrel 


12 


SALT   RIVER   PROJECT 


of  cement.  The  clinker  from  the  rotary  kilns  was  delivered  to  a 
rotary  cooler,  and  the  draft  of  air  used  for  cooling  and  becoming 
hot  in  the  process  was  turned  through  the  blower  which  supplied 
the  hot  blast  of  air  to  the  kilns  and  dryers.  The  cooled  clinker 
was  passed  through  a  ball  mill,  and  finally  finished  in  a  tube  mill. 
The  mill  was  first  operated  at  part  capacity  in  February,  1906, 
and  though  everything  was  satisfactory  at  first,  the  output  of  the 
finishing  tube  mill  gradually  declined  until  in  May  its  capacity 
was  only  about  one-half  its  output  in  February.  Experiment 
showed  this  to  be  due  to  the  high  temperature  of  the  air  and 
of  the  mill,  and  the  remedy  was  applied  by  covering  the  tube 
with  burlap  and  keeping  this  saturated  with  water  from  sprink- 
ling pipes,  which  kept  the  mill  cool  and  increased  the  capacity 
to  its  normal  rating. 

In  all,  338,452  barrels  of  Portland  cement  were  manufactured 
at  this  mill  at  the  following  costs: 

EXPENSS  OF  OPERATION  AND  MAINTENANCE,  ROOSEVELT  CEMENT  PLANT, 
MAT,  1905,  TO  JULY,  1910,  INCLUSIVE,  338,452  BARRELS 

Total  Cost  Unit  Cost 


Suj 

Ch 

Foi 

Lai 

M 

Su 

Po 

Di 

In< 

)erintendence  

$14,430.75 
11,389.71 
15,616.12 
3,338.32 
14,186.95 
18,622.56 
31,087.94 
6,075.01 
16,884.05 
780.25 
9,041.86 
9,877.44 
39,383.68 
35,561.32 
1,988.72 
52,499.05 
14,046.24 
18,917.85 
360,771.97 
44,817.21 
11,531.71 
1,748.09 
95,091.72 
233,803.09 
2,050.75 

.04260 
.03360 
.04610 
.00982 
.04188 
.05492 
.09165 
.01792 
.04980 
.00231 
.02671 
.02918 
.11630 
.10501 
.00586 
.15500 
.04143 
.05580 
1.06600 
.  13245 
.03401 
.00513 
.28100 
.68950 
.00602 

amist  and  assistants  

emen  
)or,  hoist  engineer  
clinker  burners  
millers 

operators  unskilled 

clay  millers 

handling  clinkers  

handling  wood  

oilers  
packing  cement  

hauling  clay  
maintenance 

miscellaneous 

terial  limestone 

clay 

wood  

fuel  oil  

maintenance  
aplies  
laboratory  
wer  
preciation  of  plant  
iemnity  claim  

$1,063,542.36 

$3.14000 

Cost  of  Cement  Plant,  $249,447.92  (less  salvage,  $233,803.09). 


MANUFACTURE    OF    SAND 


13 


This  cost  would  have  been  much  less  had  the  mill  been  operated 
always  at  full  capacity,  but  owing  to  the  slow  progress  of  the 
contract  work  and  frequent  interruptions  thereto,  the  mill  was 
often  either  running  half  capacity  or  closed  down. 

Manufacture  of  Sand. — Sand  in  the  vicinity  of  the  dam  site 
was  very  scarce  and  badly  mixed  with  adobe  mud,  and  it  was 
necessary  to  manufacture  the  quantity  of  sand  necessary  for 
the  work.  The  material  used  for  this  purpose  at  first  was  a 
hard  dolomite  that  occurs  near  the  site.  It  was  found,  however, 
that  it  was  deficient  in  finer  particles  and  also  had  a  tendency 
to  crush  into  sharp  flat  flakes.  These  defects  were  remedied 
by  grinding  sandstone  with  the  dolomite,  and  the  mixture  pro- 
duced good  results.  The  sand  costs  were  as  follows: 

COST  OF  SAND  MANUFACTURING 
87,810  CUBIC  YARDS 


Amount 

Unit  Cost 

Labor  operation 

$18  693  22 

213 

Labor  repairs 

4  609  45 

052 

Material  for  repairs  

6,578.25 

.076 

Supplies  for  operation  

4,224.84 

.048 

Power  

4,200.17 

.048 

Depreciation  of  plant  
Quarry  expense  

29,717.52 
70,430.52 

.338 
.802 

$138,453.97 

$1.577 

Cost  of  plant  less  salvage,  $29,717.52. 

In  the  foundation  of  the  various  mills  and  buildings,  large- 
quantities  of  lime  and  brick  were  used,  both  of  which  were  burned 
near  the  dam  site.  About  3,000,000  board-feet  of  lumber  were 
required  for  concrete  forms,  buildings,  and  other  temporary  works, 
and  this  was  manufactured  for  these  purposes  in  the  neighboring 
mountains. 

The  scarcity  of  fuel  and  the  expense  of  bringing  it  in  made 
it  necessary  to  develop  water-power  at  the  site,  which  was  done 
by  diverting  the  river  above  the  reservoir  into  a  canal  of  250 
second-feet  capacit}'  and  dropping  the  water  below  the  dam 
through  wheels  under  a  head  of  226  feet. 

Construction  of  Roosevelt  Dam. — The  Roosevelt  Dam  was  con- 
structed under  contract  by  the  J.  M.  O'Rourke  Construction  Com- 


14  SALT   RIVER    PROJECT 

pany,  the  United  States  undertaking  to  furnish  the  required 
cement  and  sand  free  and  electric  power  at  3^  cent  per  kilowatt 
hour. 

The  canyon  was  spanned  by  two  cableways,  each  1,200  feet 
long  and  2*4  inches  in  diameter,  about  85  feet  apart.  They 
commanded  the  foundation  excavation,  the  masonry  of  the  dam, 
and  the  excavation  for  the  spillways  around  the  ends  of  the  dam, 
from  which  rock  for  the  rubble  masonry  was  obtained.  Five 
stiff-leg  derricks  were  provided  for  handling  materials  on  the 
dam,  and  ten  derricks  were  used  in  the  quarries.  The  machinery 
was  operated  by  direct  current  at  500  volts  from  a  motor-generator 
set  actuated  by  alternating  current  from  the  Government  water- 
power  plant. 

The  mixing  plant  was  located  on  the  left  bank,  125  feet  above 
the  dam.  The  cement  was  delivered  from  the  mill,  1,700  feet 
distant,  by  means  of  an  aerial  cable  tramway,  which  also  delivered 
the  sand  to  the  mixing  plant.  A  number  7  crusher  prepared  the 
rock  for  the  mixer,  which  mixed  about  1^  yards  of  concrete  per 
batch. 

The  excavation  was  accomplished  mainly  by  two  hydraulic 
excavators  working  under  a  pressure  of  about  220  feet  from  the 
power  canal,  throwing  the  material  into  a  flume  and  washing  it 
down-stream.  All  of  the  pumping  done  was  performed  by  hydraulic 
jet-pumps,  working  upon  the  same  principle.  This  was  a  very 
cheap  and  convenient  mode  of  pumping,  and  as  the  work  was 
frequently  overwhelmed  by  floods,  it  was  employed  extensively. 
Owing  to  frequent  and  long-continued  floods  and  other  delays, 
*the  masonry  wras  not  completed  to  the  original  river-bed  until 
over  three  years  after  the  signature  of  contract. 

The  body  of  the  dam  was  built  of  random  rubble  bedded  in 
mortar  and  with  vertical  joints  filled  with  concrete.  The  faces 
are  of  coursed  rubble  similarly  laid.  The  masonry  was  composed 
of  large  stone,  40  per  cent;  spalls,  10  per  cent;  concrete,  35  per 
cent;  and  mortar,  15  per  cent.  Each  cubic  yard  on  an  average 
required  .76  barrel  of  cement.  The  dam  and  wing  walls  contain 
about  342,000  cubic  yards  of  masonry,  and  were  built  at  an  aver- 
age rate  of  13.2  cubic  yards  per  derrick-hour  of  actual  work,  the 
maximum  rate  reaching  at  times  over  20  cubic  yards  per  derrick- 
hour. 


/>*v; 

yllt    ;•.,*•?' 


16 


SALT   RIVER   PROJECT 


COST  OF  CONSTRUCTION  OF  ROOSEVELT  DAM 
Contract  with  J.  M.  O'Rourke  &  Co.,  Signed  April  8,  1905 

Excavation,  Class  1,    73,135    cu.  yds.  at  $1.75 $    127,986.25 

Class  2,      6,137 

Class  3,  222,268 
Dam  Masonry,  •  333,306 
Coping  masonry,  444,5 

Wing  wall  masonry        8,047.3 
Concrete  in  bridge  piers,  1 , 1 72 

Masonry  bridges,  2  at  $7,500 

Overhaul,  426,573.6  cu.  yds.  at  15  cents 

Changes  after  work  commenced 


"    5.00 30,685.00 

"    1.50 333,402.00 

"    3.15 1,049,913.90 


20.00 

4.75 

6.00... 


8,890.00 
38,224.67 

7,032.00 
15,000.00 
63,986.04 
38,262.00 

$1,713,381.86 
Items  not  covered  by  contract: 

Pilasters 8,913.30 

Capstones 2,390.50 

Gate  and  tool  houses 14,340.01 

Sprinkling  system 1,063.97 

Lighting  system 4,658.18 

Repairs  to  toe  of  dam 15,579.64 

Loss  on  power 91,313.72 

Bridge  railings 1,809.02 

Laboratory  expense 1,921.53 

Miscellaneous  labor  and  materials 31,211.86 

Cement,  305,213  barrels 787,451.10 

Sand • 136,612.09 

Engineering  and  superintendence 49,210.72 

Inspectors 43,426.77 

Camp  maintenance 64,891.31 

$2,968,175.58 
Proportion  General  Expense : 221,829.63 


Total  Cost $3,190,005.21 

Power  Development. — The  power  development  at  the  dam  con- 
sists of  two  separate  classes  of  units,  one  deriving  water  from  the 
power  canal  and  the  other  using  the  water  from  reservoir  as  it 
is  discharged  for  irrigation  purposes. 

.  Water  may  be  drawn  from  the  reservoir  by  three  passages. 
One,  the  sluicing  tunnel,  is  built  at  an  elevation  so  that  the  reservoir 
may  be  entirely  emptied.  The  flow  through  the  tunnel  is  regulated 
by  two  sets  of  gates,  three  gates  in  each  set.  These  gates,  with 
the  operating  mechanism,  weigh  about  800,000  pounds,  have  a  net 


POWER   DEVELOPMENT  17 

opening  of  5  by  10  feet,  and  are  constructed  for  a  pressure  of  100 
pounds  to  the  square  inch.  The  second  passage  for  water  from 
the  reservoir  passes  through  the  dam  and  consists  of  a  riveted 
steel  penstock  10  feet  in  diameter,  and  the  elevation  of  the  pen- 
stock intake  is  70  feet  above  the  bottom  of  the  reservoir.  This 
penstock  is  equipped  with  a  special  emergency  valve  10  feet 
in  diameter,  and  is  connected  with  the  water-wheels  of  the 
permanent  power-house.  The  third  passage  of  water  from  the 
reservoir  is  a  tunnel  some  260  feet  in  length  through  the  rock 
on  the  other  side  of  the  river  from  the  main  sluicing  tunnel. 
Water  is  taken  through  the  dam  into  this  tunnel  by  three  lines 
of  cast-iron  pipes,  each  5  feet  in  diameter,  having  an  elevation 
at  the  intake  end  of  150  feet.  The  control  of  the  water  is  effected 
by  means  of  a  5-foot  balanced  valve  located  at  the  intake  end 
of  each  pipe,  described  on  page  10. 

In  order  to  have  power  for  construction  operations  and  for 
lighting,  a  power  canal  was  built  to  serve  the  first  turbine  and 
generator  unit.  The  dam  and  intake  for  this  canal  are  located 
on  Salt  River  above  the  highest  contour  of  the  reservoir,  about 
19  miles  from  Roosevelt.  The  dam  consists  of  an  overflow  weir, 
built  of  boulders  and  concrete.  The  crest  is  400  feet  in  length, 
and  is  about  7  feet  above  the  low-water  level  of  the  river.  The 
power  canal  sweeps  through  the  open  country,  following  the 
course  of  the  river,  and  is  for  the  greatest  part  an  open  cut  cement- 
lined  ditch,  although  in  some  places  it  takes  the  form  of  a  tunnel 
and  also  a  covered  reinforced  cement  flume. 

The  temporary  power-plant  was  located  in  a  cave  in  the 
vertical  cliff  immediately  below  the  dam  at  Roosevelt.  This 
sheltered  location  gave  protection  to  the  apparatus  during  blast- 
ing, and  when  the  permanent  plant  was  installed  the  niche  or  cave 
was  utilized  for  the  housing  of  switching  and  controlling  apparatus. 
The  temporary  plant  consisted  of  a  1,300  horse-power  water  tur- 
bine connected  to  a  950-kilowatt  generator. 

The  permanent  power-plant  is  located  at  the  foot  of  the  dam 
and  is  built  into  the  vertical  cliff.  The  building  is  on  a  rock 
foundation,  and  the  .draft  tubes  and  tail-races  are  built  in  rock. 
Two  penstocks  enter  the  building,  one  from  the  power  canal  and 
the  other  through  the  dam.  The  water  from  the  power  canal 
is  brought  to  three  of  the  units  through  an  inclined  tunnel  lined 
half-way  down  with  concrete  only;  the  balance  of  the  way  the 


18  SALT   RIVER    PROJECT 

concrete  is  lined  with  steel  plate.  A  7-foot  penstock  extends  from 
the  lower  end  of  the  tunnel  connecting  with  the  three  1,800  horse- 
power vertical  water  turbines  driving  950-kilowatt  generators. 
The  10-foot  penstock  through  the  dam  will  ultimately  serve  three 
units,  one  of  these  2,000  kilowatts  and  two  of  1,200  kilowatts 
capacity.  The  generators  supply  twenty-five  cycle,  three-phase 
current,  at  2,300  volts.  The  units  served  by  the  power  canal 
will  have  a  constant  static  head  of  226  feet,  while  the  units  served 
by  the  penstock  through  the  dam  wrill  operate  under  a  variable 
head,  dependent  upon  the  height  of  water  in  the  reservoir.  They 
are  designated  to  give  maximum  efficiency  at  a  head  of  160  feet, 
arid  they  will  be  controlled  to  operate  at  heads  varying  from 
90  to  220  feet.  S.  Morgan  Smith  water-wheels  drive  the  two 
100-kilowatt  exciter  generators,  and  two  Pelton  wheels  drive 
pressure  pumps  for  the  governor  oil  system.  Lombard  governors 
are  attached  to  the  large  units  and  the  two  small  exciter  wheels 
are  equipped  with  Woodward  governors. 

In  the  niche  where  the  temporary  powrer-plant  had  been 
installed,  back  of  the  main  power-house,  the  2,300  volt  bus-bars 
and  switches  are  located.  There  is  a  complete  double  bus-bar 
switchboard,  with  selector  switches  for  both  generators  and  trans- 
formers. The  generator  bus-bars  are  carried  upon  insulators 
supported  upon  brackets  overhead,  and  the  lead-covered  cables 
from  the  generators  to  the  bus-bars  are  equipped  with  station 
terminals  at  both  ends.  There  are  two  sections  of  switch  cells, 
each  bank  being  24  feet  long.  The  switches  are  mounted  upon 
slate  panels,  housed  in  concrete  compartments,  16  inches  wide. 
The  concrete  barriers  between  the  cells  are  4  inches  thick.  The 
separate  circuits  are  protected  by  disconnecting  switches  on  either 
side  of  the  solenoid-operated  oil  switches  and  all  outgoing  cable  is 
carried  to  a  wire  tower  upon  the  roof  of  the  power-house.  On 
a  gallery  upon  the  level  of  the  switch-room,  and  overhanging  the 
main  power-plant,  are  placed  all  the  controlling  apparatus.  All 
remote-control  apparatus  for  handling  the  various  valves  con- 
trolling the  sluicing  and  water  intake  is  controlled  from  this 
gallery. 

The  transformers  and  high-tension  switches  are  located  in  a 
separate  building  about  600  feet  from  the  power-plant.  The 
copper  cables  are  carried  in  a  long  span  from  the  wire  tower  to 
the  transformer  house,  which  is  a  three-story  building.  The 


TRANSMISSION   LINE  19 

first  floor  contains  the  transformers  and  accessory  repair  and 
maintenance  supplies,  the  second  floor  the  double  bus-bar  and 
disconnecting  switches,  and  the  third  floor  the  solenoid-operated 
oil  switches  and  outgoing  line  accessories.  There  are  six  groups 
of  water-cooled  transformers,  transforming  from  2,300  volts 
to  45,000  volts.  These  transformers  have  a  nominal  capacity 
of  350  kilovolt-amperes,  and  were  built  according  to  the  specifi- 
cations of  the  Reclamation  Service. 

The  first  floor  of  the  transformer  house  is  served  by  a  large 
repair  pit,  and  any  transformer  may  be  wheeled  to  the  pits.  The 
transformers  rest  upon  large  casters,  are  in  fire-proof  compartments, 
and  each  three-phase  group  is  isolated  by  concrete  barrier  walls. 
Switches  and  bus-bars  are  inclosed  in  concrete  cells,  the  busses 
being  carried  on  line  insulators.  The  incoming  2,300  volt  lines 
are  equipped  with  multigap  lightning  arresters.  The  two  45,000- 
volt  lines  are  handled  by  motor-operated  oil-switches,  passing 
from  these  to  the  choke-coils,  thence  to  24-inch  vitrified  tile  pipes 
direct  to  the  first  tower  of  the  transmission  line.  The  outgoing 
lines  are  equipped  with  aluminum  cell  lightning  arresters. 

The  transmission  line  consists  of  six  83,000  circular  mill,  6- 
strand,  hemp  core,  hard-drawn  copper  wires  supported  upon 
14-inch  insulators  passing  a  test  of  165,000  volts  dry.  The  line 
is  supported  on  steel  towers  with  the  lowest  wire  at  a  limiting 
distance  of  30  feet  from  the  lowest  wire  to  the  ground  in  the 
valley  and  20  feet  in  the  mountains.  The  average  span  is  360  feet 
in  the  mountains  on.  account  of  the  rough  country,  and  400  feet 
in  the  valley.  The  line  is  65  miles  long,  reaching  to  Phoenix. 
Forty  miles  from  the  power-house  a  branch  line  is  tapped  off 
from  a  four-way  switching  station  near  the  town  of  Mesa,  running 
south  for  20  miles  and  terminating  in  the  substation  at  the  Pima 
Indian  Reservation.  There  is  also  about  10  miles  south  of  the 
main  line  another  substation  for  general  irrigation  pumping.  In 
addition  to  supplying  power  for  irrigation  purposes,  the  main 
transmission  line  delivers  power  to  the  Phcenix  substation  of  the 
Pacific  Gas  &  Electric  Companj",  and  to  several  small  industries. 

The  wires  are  spaced  at  the  angles  of  a  4-foot  equilateral 
triangle.  Both  circuits  are  carried  on  the  same  towers.  One 
circuit  is  transposed  one-third  of  a  spiral  every  2  miles  and  the 
other  every  4  miles.  At  four  points  along  the  line  the  towers 
are  fitted  up  so  that  by  taking  out  a  clamp  the  line  may  be 


20  SALT   RIVER   PROJECT 

opened  for  testing  and  working.  Across  the  mountains  and 
desert  the  wires  are  carried  on  galvanized-steel  towers.  In  the 
irrigated  region  steel  poles  are  used. 

The  towers  in  the  mountain  region  are  mounted  on  concrete 
bases  or  anchored  in  the  solid  rock.  There  are  418  towers,  and 
67  are  double-braced  and  the  balance  single-braced.  In  thfe 
section  from  Goldfield  to  Highland  Canal  there  are  192  towers 
set  on  anchor  plates,  about  2  feet  in  diameter,  buried  from  4  to  5 
feet  in  the  ground.  On  the  towers  there  are  four  wires  on  the 
upper  cross-arms  and  two  on  the  lower.  The  cross-arms  are 
made  of  channel  iron.  The  towers  on  straightway  sections  of 
the  line  are  single-braced.  On  the  steel  poles  there  are  four  wires 
on  the  lower  cross-arm  and  two  on  the  upper.  The  cross-arms 
are  made  of  U-bar  section  similar  to  the  ribs  of  the  pole  and  have 
diagonal  braces  and  vertical  struts  between  the  two  cross-arms  to 
brace  them. 

At  the  beginning  of  service  it  was  found  that  a  number  of 
short-circuits  were  caused  at  certain  points  by  large  hawks  sitting 
on  the  towers  and  touching  the  wires  with  their  wings  or  bodies. 
A  guard  was  therefore  designed,  consisting  of  a  cast-iron  cluster 
clamped  to  the  tower  and  holding  pointed  rods  of  /i6-mch  birch 
dowels  spread  so  as  to  prevent  the  birds  alighting.  Placing  these 
improved  the  service  somewhat,  but  much  trouble  was  still 
encountered. 

After  considering  the  development  of  transmission  practice  in 
other  regions,  it  was  finally  decided  to  rebuild  the  valley  portion 
of  the  transmission  line  for  the  purpose  of  overcoming  these 
difficulties. 

Alternate  towers  were  eliminated,  and  those  remaining  were 
built  12  feet  higher,  making  a  clearance  of  42  feet  at  towers.  The 
span  through  the  valley  was  thus  lengthened  to  800  feet.  Sus- 
pended insulators  were  substituted  for  the  original  insulators, 
removing  the  favorite  lighting-place  for  birds.  This  recon- 
struction has  perfectly  accomplished  its  purpose  of  eliminating 
almost  entirely  the  interruption  through  open  country. 

The  main  switching  station  near  Mesa  is  a  concrete  build- 
ing 52  feet  long,  30  feet  wide,  and  26  feet  high.  The  branch 
line  running  south  to  the  Gila  River  Indian  Reservation  leaves 
the  main  line  at  this  point.  This  building  contains  the 
necessary  switches  to  control  the  circuits  on  either  side  of  the 


PUMPING    STATIONS  21 

main  system  or  the  branch.  The  station  is  protected  by  aluminum 
cell  lightning  arresters.  The  lines  are  deadened  at  the  station 
entrances  on  disc  type  insulators  and  pass  through  open  tile 
bushings  to  a  set  of  four  switches. 

About  73/2  miles  south  of  Mesa,  and  1  mile  west  of  the  branch 
line,  is  located  the  Chandler  substation,  which  is  a  building  of 
reinforced  concrete,  54  feet  long  by  23  feet  wide  and  23  feet  high. 
It  contains  three  transformers  from  45,000  to  10,000  volts.  A 
secondary  distributing  line,  which  totals  about  10  miles  in  length, 
starts  from  this  station  and  will  distribute  energy  to"  pumping 
stations  located  in  the  area  above  mentioned.  The  Sacaton  sub- 
station is  located  about  20  miles  south  of  the  switching  station 
on  an  area  that  will  be  irrigated  by  pumping.  It  is  similar  in 
construction  to  substation  No.  1,  and  contains  three  transformers 
stepping  down  from  45,000  to  10,000  volts.  A  secondary  dis- 
tributing line,  about  10  miles  in  length,  starts  from  substation  No.  2 
for  the  distribution  of  energy  at  10,000  volts  to  eleven  pumping 
stations. 

The  pump  houses  are  built  of  concrete  and  are  directly  over  the 
wells.  The  equipment  consists  of  current  transformers  operating 
overload  relays,  10,000-volt  automatic  oil  switches,  oil-insulated 
air-cooled  transformers,  and  the  single-panel  switchboard.  The 
vertical  induction  motor  operates  on  220  volts,  starting  taps  being 
taken  from  the  secondary  of  the  transformer  for  starting  the  motors 
at  half  voltage.  Pumps  and  motors  are  mounted  on  vertical 
shafts.  The  mechanism  of  the  motor,  pump  and  frame  is  mounted 
on  I-beams,  built  into  the  concrete  well-casing.  The  motor  can 
be  unbolted  and  lifted  out,  and  the  frame  and  pump  lifted  out 
for  examination.  The  pump-house  is  served  with  an  overhead 
I-beam,  equipped  with  differential  pulley  for  lifting  the  heavy 
mechanism. 

The  wells  are  sunk  in  single  batteries  and  in  drifts  of  two  and 
three,  the  pump  suction  going  to  a  common  manifold  where  there 
is  more  than  one  well  in  the  battery.  The  wells  consist  of  a  16- 
inch  California  well-casing  driven  to  a  depth  of  200  feet,  a  large 
portion  of  this  depth  consisting  of  coarse  gravel.  Around  this 
is  sunk  a  concrete  caisson,  9  feet  in  diameter,  to  a  depth  of  from 
45  to  55  feet. 


22 


SALT   RIVER    PROJECT 


GRANITE   REEF   DIVERSION   DAM 

When   water   required   for   irrigation   is   liberated   from   the 
Roosevelt  Reservoir  it  flows  down  Salt  River  about  45  miles  to 


Assumed  Hl;h  \Vater  Elev.  1322 


UNIT  FlOUREb 
Concrete  147  Ibs.  per  cu.  ft. 
Amount  rock  20$ 
Wt.  rock  156  Ibs.  per  cu.  ft. 
Av.  wt.  in  dam  149  Ibs.  per  cu.  ft. 
Water  02.5  Ibs.  per  cu.  ft.  / 

Flowing  mud  57)$  Ibs.  per  cu.  ft.  additional 


«<J.  ft. 

Wt.  of  Section  lift,  thick    27416.  Ib8. 
Horlz.  liquid  pressures:- 


For  falling  body  with  Initial 
Horii. velocity  12%  ft.  per  Bee.  and 
A=22.5  V=  40  ft.  per  Dec.  (abt.) 
Q-  aht.  150  cu.  ft.  per 
150x62.5       - 


FIG.  4. — Analysis  of  Granite  Reef  Dam,  Salt  River,  Arizona. 

the  Granite  Reef  diversion  dam,  2  miles  below  the  mouth  of 
the  Rio  Verde,  its  main  tributary. 

The  diversion  dam  is  of  the  gravity  ogee  type,  is  built  of 
rubble  concrete,  and  is  38  feet  high  and  1,000  feet  long.  At  each 
end  of  the  dam  is  an  intake  structure,  canal-heading  and  sluice- 
way. The  north  side  canal  has  a  capacity  of  2,000  cubic  feet  per 
second,  provided  with  eighteen  regulator-gates  and  four  sluice- 
gates. The  south  side  canal  has  a  capacity  of  about  1,200  cubic 


GRANITE    REEF   DIVERSION   DAM  23 

feet  per  second,  regulated  by  nine  head-gates,  and  has  two  sluice- 
gates. The  plan  of  this  structure  is  shown  in  drawing,  Plate  IV. 

Salt  River,  like  most  Southwestern  streams,  carries  a  great 
load  of  sediment,  especially  in  times  of  flood.  This  load  varies 
from  coarse  sand  to  impalpable  silt.  Where  the  river  water  is  di- 
verted into  canals  in  time  of  flood  it  carries  with  it  a  large  amount 
of  sand  and  silt,  the  coarsest  of  which  is  deposited  in  the  canals 
and  entails  large  expenditures  for  removal  in  order  to  keep  the 
canals  open.  It  is  important,  therefore,  to  prevent,  so  far  as 
possible,  the  heavier  and  coarser  particles  from  entering  the  canal. 
The  finer  and  lighter  portions  can  be  carried  through  the  canals 
and  laterals  and  applied  to  the  land  with  the  irrigation  water, 
where  they  are  valuable  for  fertilizing  purposes.  A  combined 
sluiceway  and  settling  basin  are  provided  directly  in  front  of  the 
regulator-gates  to  take  out  the  coarser  material.  This  basin  is 
limited  on  the  land  side  by  the  regulator-gates  and  on  the  opposite 
side  by  a  training  wall  of  concrete  parallel  to  the  regulator-gates 
and  to  the  axis  of  the  river.  The  bottom  of  the  basin,  or  sluice, 
is  built  on  a  slope  1^2  per  cent  down-stream  and  is  3  to  4  feet 
below  the  sills  of  the  regulator-gates.  This  floor  is  continuous 
with  the  sill  of  the  sluice-gates,  which  are  8  feet  below  the  crest 
of  the  dam. 

As  the  water  approaches  the  canal-gates  its  velocity  is  checked 
and  it  is  required  to  change  its  direction  and  flow  at  right  angles 
to  the  course  of  the  river.  This  causes  it  to  drop  the  heavier 
sediment  in  the  deep  sluicing  channel,  which  soon  fills  that  channel. 
When  this  occurs  the  sluice-gates  are  opened,  and  the  rushing 
waters  under  the  large  available  head  rapidly  cut  away  the  sand 
in  the  channel,  and  a  few  minutes  is  sufficient  to  restore  a  basin 
for  the  settlement  of  sand.  At  times  of  low  water,  when  there  is 
no  surplus  water  available  for  sluicing,  the  stream  usually  runs 
more  nearly  clear  and  sluicing  is  less  necessary.  At  such  times, 
however,  a  small  quantity  of  sand  may  be  slowly  moving  along 
the  bottom  and  necessitate  occasional  sluicing.  The  water 
thus  used  need  not  all  be  wasted,  however,  as  there  are  other 
diversions  below. 

Construction  of  Granite  Reef  Dam. — This  work  was  begun  in 
the  fall  of  1906,  and  was  completed  to  a  point  so  that  water  was 
diverted  into  the  Arizona  Canal,  June  13,  1908.  The  work  was 
greatly  delayed,  hampered,  and  made  more  expensive  by  the 


24  SALT   RIVER   PROJECT 

delay  for  more  than  a  year  on  various  pretexts  in  the  delivery 
of  a  cableway  and  appurtenances  for  use  on  this  work.  This 
prevented  entirely  or  partially  the  economical  use  of  various 
equipment  purchased  and  installed,  but  which  could  not  be  used 
without  the  cableway. 

A  transmission  line  was  built  from  the  hydro-electric  plant  of 
the  Pacific  Gas  &  Electric  Company,  which  furnished  electric 
power  for  construction  purposes.  An  electric  railway  was  con- 
structed to  a  quarry  opened  on  the  south  side  of  the  river  about 
one-half  mile  above  the  dam,  which  furnished  all  the  rock  used  in 
the  dam,  except  such  boulders  as  could  be  readily  secured  from 
the  river-bed. 

•Cement  was  used  mainly  from  the  Government  mill  at  Roose- 
velt, from  which  point  the  haulage  was  ten  dollars  per  ton. 
Cement  from  lola,  Kansas,  cost  $3.53  per  barrel  f.o.b.  Mesa, 
and  $0.92  per  barrel  haulage  from  Mesa  to  Granite  Reef,  making 
a  total  cost  per  barrel  of  $4.45,  which  was  greater  than  the  cost 
of  the  Government  cement. 

The  river-bed  at  the  dam  site  consisted  of  sand,  gravel,  and 
boulders,  underlaid  with  coarse-grained  gray  granite  rock  for 
about  two-thirds  the  length  of  the  dam,  but  directly  under  the 
main  channel  of  the  river  the  rock  was  too  deep  for  foundation 
purpose,  and  this  portion  of  the  dam  was  founded  on  a  bed  of 
compact  gravel. 

The  dam  has  a  clear  overflow  length  of  1,000  feet  between 
the  sluiceways  at  each  end.  Some  additional  spillway  is  avail- 
able over  or  through  the  sluice-gates,  at  each  end  «of  the  dam. 

The  height  of  the  main  body  of  the  dam  is  26  feet  and  its 
crest  is  about  20  feet  above  low  water.  The  base  of  the  maximum 
cross-section  is  36  feet  wide,  and  curtain  walls  at  the  toe  and 
heel  of  foundations  are  carried  to  varying  depths  into  the  gravel. 
An  apron  18  inches  thick,  in  blocks  10  feet  square,  is  carried 
down-stream  from  the  toe  for  a  distance  of  75  feet  and  terminates 
in  a  curtain  wall.  The  area  of  cross-section  of  the  dam  exclusive 
of  apron  and  curtain  wall  is  476  square  feet.  (See  Fig.  4.) 

No  reinforcement  was  used  except  to  bond  the  masonry  with 
the  rock  and  to  connect  joints  in  the  concrete  work. 

The  concrete  was  mostly  made  of  the  natural  gravel  and  sand 
into  which  boulders  and  broken  rock  were  crowded. 

There  are  eighteen  intake-  or  regulator-gates,  the  sills  of  which 


- :     L  i 


26  SALT   RIVER   PROJECT 

are  4  feet  lower  than  the  crest  of  the  dam  and  4  feet  above  the 
upper  end  of  that  floor.  The  lower  end  of  the  sluiceway  is  closed 
by  four  sluice:gates,  9  feet  high  by  15  feet  wide.  The  sluice-gates 
are  operated  by  chains  and  wire  ropes  passing  around  pulleys  and 
through  a  tunnel  under  the  gate  sills  around  a  drum  to  a  hydraulic 
piston  moving  in  a  cylinder  of  28  inches  diameter.  They  are 
operated  by  a  gasoline  engine. 

Each  sluice-gate  consists  of  a  cast-iron  shell  filled  with  con- 
crete, and  weighs  about  30,000  pounds. 

The  regulator-gates  are  likewise  of  cast  iron,  and  they  close 
upon  oaken  sills.  They  are  curved  toward  the  water,  and  have 
a  buoyance  greater  than  their  weight,  to  assist  in  opening.  They 
are  operated  by  the  gasoline  engine,  the  shaft  of  which  carries 
two  gears  on  the  sleeves  of  a  duplex  friction  clutch.  The  gears 
transfer  their  motion  to  a  counter-shaft  connected  with  the  gears 
of  the  gate  stands. 

CANAL   SYSTEMS 

On  the  Salt  River  Project  are  two  canal  systems,  one  on  each 
side  of  the  river,  heading  at  the  Granite  Reef  Dam.  The  one  on 
the  north  side,  called  the  Arizona  Canal,  has  a  capacity  of  2,000 
cubic  feet  per  second,  and  serves  about  127,000  acres  of  land. 
The  South  Side  Canal  has  at  its  head  a  capacity  of  1,200  cubic 
feet  per  second  and  is  capable  of  serving  about  80,000  acres. 
Another  diversion  point  occurs  about  24  miles  below  Granite  Reef 
Dam,  called  the  Joint  Head,  where  a  low  concrete  dam  diverts 
water  into  the  joint  head  of  the  old  Salt  and  Maricopa  Canals. 
This  diversion  utilizes  a  considerable  amount  of  return  seepage 
water  flowing  into  the  river  from  the  irrigated  region  about  Mesa 
and  Tempe.  The  capacity  of  this  canal  is  about  200  cubic  feet 
per  second.  The  present  water  supply  is  estimated  to  be  sufficient 
for  about  200,000  acres,  but  can  be  increased  by  additional  wells, 
or  by  providing  a  storage  reservoir  in  the  Rio  Verde. 

On  the  Arizona  Canal,  about  12  miles  below  its  head,  a  branch 
called  the  new  Crosscut  Canal  runs  southward  along  a  ridge, 
and  drops  115  feet  through  impulse  water-wheels,  and  develops 
6,430  horse-power;  the  water,  after  leaving  the  plant,  passing 
into  the  Grand  Canal,  is  carried  down  the  valley  for  irrigation. 
Further  down  the  Arizona  Canal  is  a  drop  of  18  feet,  where  1,130 
horse-power  is  developed.  The  South  Canal,  about  12  miles 


CANAL    SYSTEMS 
GRANITE  REEF  DAM 


27 


Feature 

Unit 

Quantity 

COST  TO  THE  UNITED 
STATES 

Unit 

Total 

Borings,    principally    sand    grave 
and  boulders. 

1 

L.  Ft. 

C.  Y. 
C.  Y. 

S.Q. 

C.  Y. 
C.  Y. 
S.Q. 
C.  Y. 

C.  Y. 

2530 

1690.91 
9458     / 
3106.8 

8544.  2  \ 
31360.  7/ 
5813.3 
173.6 

10924.5) 
1508.4  \ 
1831.  8  J 
5685.6 

2.60 

.31 
5.56 

.37 

2.58 
6.81 

1.85 
9.73 

$6,589.25 

3,472.27 
17,273.17 

14,957.68 

15,007.16 
1,182.93 

26,401.47 

55',314.36 
29,236.55 

34,766.75 

82,501.87 
51,628.33 

61,342.26 
135,711.53 

34,573.94 
3,030.38 

8,171.41 
3,020.28 

30,854.76 

3,236.53 
2,006.26 
1,299.31 
68.91 
902.94 

233.74 
2,161.34 

2,112.22 

South  Levee 
Embankment  —  -exc 

fill  

18"  dry  rock  paving  
North  Levee 
Ernbankment  —  exc.         .     .    . 

fill. 

18"  dry  rock  paving 

Concrete  

South  End  Structures 
Excavation  —  earth  

rock  
earth  fill  

Concrete. 

C.  Y. 

Lbs 

Gates  and  machinery. 

North  End  Structure 
Excavation  —  earth  

C.  Y. 

"C.'Y." 

Lbs. 
C.  Y. 

18876.5) 
743.3  \ 
10917.  6J 
8071.3 

1.14 
10.22 

rock  
earth  fill  
Concrete  
Gates  and  machinery  .  . 

Main  Dam  and  Apron 
Excavation 
Apron  —  ear  th 

10177.5) 
14226.5  \ 
192.  5j 
17893.5 

3378 
4040.5 

2.49 
7.60 

10.24 
.75 

Dam  —  earth  

Dam  —  rock  
Concrete  (boulder)  
Apron  and  curtain   walls.     Cone, 
(boulder)  . 

C.  Y. 
C.  Y. 

C.  Y. 
C.Y. 

Rock  fill 

Betterments 
Apron  

Sluiceways  and  levee  
Prop,  of  cost  of  Ariz. 
Canal  heading.    . 

Operator's  Residence 
Grading 

Fence 

Water  supply  

Roads  

Corral  shed.  .  .  .  :  

Miscellaneous   expense  not    classi- 
fied... 

Lighting  and  pumping  plant 

Installing     electric     machine    for 
opening  gates 

Total  

$627,057.60 

28  SALT   RIVER   PROJECT 

below  its  head,  drops  the  major  portion  of  its  water  into  the 
Consolidated  Canal,  with  a  fall  of  26  feet,  and  develops  2,140 
horse-power.  This,  with  the  12,000  horse-power  developed  at 
Roosevelt,  makes  a  total  installation  of  21,700  horse-power,  which 
is  used  for  pumping  underground  waters  and  for  commercial 
purposes. 

The  average  amount  of  power  available  is,  however,  far  less 
than  the  above  figures  of  total  installation.  The  primary  use  of 
the  water  is  for  irrigation,  and  although  this  is  carried  on  every 
month  in  the  year,  except  when  local  rains  render  it  temporarily 
unnecessary,  the  Rio  Verde  joins  the  Salt  River  below  the  storage 
reservoir,  and  whenever  it  is  in  flood,  which  frequently  happens 
in  winter,  it  is  impossible  to  draw  water  from  the  Roosevelt 
Reservoir  without  wasting  it,  and  this  the  irrigation  requirement 
will  not  admit.  The  Roosevelt  plant  is,  therefore,  unavailable  or 
partially  so  during  much  of  the  winter,  when  the  need  for  water 
in  the  valley  is  least. 

This  fluctuating  power  supply  is,  however,  fairly  well  adapted 
to  the  pumping  requirements.  The  wells  for  tapping  the  under- 
ground waters  are  scattered  through  the  Valley  among  lands  served 
from  the  gravity  canals,  and  into  these  canals  the  well  water  is 
pumped.  When  no  water  is  being  drawn  from  the  reservoir  it  is 
because  the  Verde  flood  waters  are  sufficient  for  irrigation  needs, 
and  at  such  times  the  well  water  is  not  needed.  When  the  floods 
subside,  and  more  water  is  needed,  a  part  is  drawn  from  the 
reservoir,  and  the  power  generated  thereby  is  used  to  pump  the 
rest  of  the  water  needed  from  the  wells. 

This  condition,  however,  represents  only  a  small  part  of  the 
great  fluctuation  of  the  power  supply.  The  crop  needs  for  water 
are  so  much  less  in  winter  than  in  summer,  and  are  so  much  more 
fully  served  by  the  Rio  Verde  and  by  the  winter  rains,  that  far 
more  power  is  available  in  summer  than  in  winter,  not  only  at 
the  reservoir,  but  in  the  canals  which  are  steadily  used  to  nearly 
their  full  capacity  in  midsummer,  and  the  Valley  power  plants 
can  then  run  to  near  their  capacity,  while  in  winter  the  water 
thus  available  for  power  is  far  less.  The  power  steadily  available, 
and  therefore  adapted  for  general  commercial  uses,  is  limited 
to  that  which  can  be  generated  at  the  canal  drops  during  the 
minimum  winter  consumption  of  irrigation  water.  To  make  the 
large  summer  power  available,  therefore,  it  is  necessary  to  supple- 


30 


SALT   RIVER   PROJECT 


ment  it  with  steam,  and  an  advantageous  contract  has  been  made 
to  accomplish  this  end.  The  great  expense  of  fuel  in  the  neigh- 
boring mining  regions  renders  power  very  valuable  there,  even 
when  intermittent.  Arrangements  have  been  made  by  which 
the  mining  interests  provide  full  steam  equipment  to  furnish 
power  when  necessary,  and  take  all  the  surplus  power  from  the 
project  up  to  a  maximum  of  800  kilowatts  whenever  any  surplus 
is  available,  paying  for  the  current  thus  consumed  %  cents  per 
kilowatt  hour. 

The  character  of  the  installation  at  the  three  Valley  power 
plants  is  shown  in  the  table  below: 


South 
Consolidated 

Arizona 
Falls 

Crosscut 

Water-  wheels  

2  twin  horizon. 

2  twin  horizon. 

6  impulse 

Capacity,  each  
Speed  

1,400  H.P. 
166  R.P.M. 

725  H.P. 
150  R.P.M. 

1,000  H.P. 
94  R.P.M. 

Head  static  
Diameter  

26  to  28  ft. 
48  inches 

18  to  20  ft. 
45  inches 

116  ft. 

Maximum  efficiency. 
Weight 

78% 
81  000  Ibs. 

80% 
60,000  Ibs. 

75% 

Factory  price  

$6,150 

$5,750 

Governors  
Generators  
Voltage  
Capacity,  each  
2  hr.  overload  capac. 
Temperature  rise  
Efficiency  test  .  .  . 
Weight  
Transformers  
Rated  capacity..  .... 
Efficiency  
Upper  voltage 

10"  x  16" 
3  ph.,  25  eye. 
2,300  volts 
1,000  KVA 
1,250  KVA 
40% 
95.75% 
62,100  Ibs. 
7  water  cooled 
333  KVA 
97.5 
40,000  volts 

11A"  x  16" 
3  ph.,  25  cvcle 
11,000  volts 
530  KVA 
663  KVA 
40% 
93.5% 
49,500  Ibs. 
None 
None 
None 

Deflection 
6,  3  ph. 
11,000  volts 
875  KVA 
1,094  KVA 
50% 
93.5% 
78,000  Ibs. 
12  water  cooled 
500  KVA 
97.6 
40,000  volts 

Crane  .  .  . 

15  tons 

12  tons 

20  tons 

Span  of  crane 

39'  6" 

39'  4" 

Spillway 

Weir  344  ft 

The  use  of  impulse  wheels  at  the  Crosscut  plant  was  prompted 
by  five  reasons: 

(a)  The  parts  subject  to  erosion  by  the  muddy  water  .are 
reduced  to  a  minimum  and  are  simple  and  easily  replaced. 

(6)  Water  hammer  is  eliminated  by  the  use  of  jet  deflectors 
and  small  valves  controlling  the  various  jets.  This  makes  it  pos- 
sible to  use  concrete  penstocks  and  to  eliminate  surge  chambers. 

(c)  Great  flexibility  and  better  part-load  efficiency  are  obtained 


CAXAL   SYSTEMS  31 

by  closing  part  of  the  nozzles  on  the  wheel,  and  operating  under 
small  load  with  perfect  jets. 

(d)  Steady  irrigation  flow  regardless  of  fluctuation  of  power 
load  is  secured  by  means  of  jet  deflectors. 

(e)  It  is  estimated  that  this  plant  is  cheaper  than  a  turbine 
plant  for  this  location. 

JOINT   HEAD   DIVERSION   DAM 

Considerable  return  seepage  water  reaches  Salt  River  from 
the  irrigation  of  the  lands  in  the  Upper  Valley,  especially  the 
Mesa  and  Tempe  regions,  and  this  water  is  picked  up  by  a  diversion 
dam  in  the  river  about  3  miles  below  the  town  of  Tempe,  which 
serves  as  a  heading  to  the  Maricopa  and  Salt  River  Canals,  and 
is  called  the  "Joint  Head."  This  dam  is  a  low  concrete  weir 
of  the  ogee  type,  with  a  broad  apron  below  it  to  prevent  erosion 
of  its  toe.  Its  right  abutment  is  in  soft  rock  and  the  canal  head- 
works  are  founded  on  the  same.  Its  left  abutment  is  a  concrete 
structure  flanked  by  an  earthen  dike  reaching  across  the  flood 
plain  to  higher  ground.  The  dam  was  built  by  Government 
forces,  and  has  the  following  costs: 


JOINT  HEAD  DIVERSION  DAM 

Earth,  Excavation  Part  Wet,  Rock  All  Wet,  Mostly  Removed  by  Hand 

Without   Blasting  on  Account   of  Proximity  of  Gates.     Two  Pumps 

Operated  During  Most  of  Construction 


COST 

TO   THE   UNT1 

•ED  STATES 

Unit 

Total 

Feature 

Excavated  sand,  gravel,  and 
boulders 

C  Y 

10341 

77 

$7,995.78 

Exc.  —  decomposed  granite.  . 
Levee  fill  
Backfill  
Backfill  
Concrete  —  boulder  
reinforced  
Cobble  paving  —  grouted  .  .  . 
dry  
Gates  and  machinery 

C.  Y. 
C.  Y. 
C.Y. 
C.  Y. 
C.Y. 

C.Y." 
Sq.  yd. 
Lbs. 

464.8 
3,774 
2,100 
390 
1,254.7 
368.6 
398 
40 

7.84 
.37 
.33 

.84 

11.66 
2.16 
2.16 

3,645.87 
1,410.91 
699.31 
326.67 

18,926.42 

948.23 
5,167.50 

Removing  old  structure 

206.14 

Rock  riprap  

C.  Y. 

202.10 

«0q   COO  Q«>- 

32  SALT   RIVER   PROJECT 

The  distribution  system  of  the  Salt  River  Project  is  a  very 
complete  one,  and  is  adapted  to  a  highly  developed  system  of 
rotation  irrigation.  Each  tract  of  land  is  irrigated  at  intervals 
of  about  eight  days,  with  a  head  of  water  of  from  5  to  15  cubic 
feet  per  second,  according  to  circumstances.  The  quantity  of 
water  delivered  to  each  irrigator  depends  on  the  acreage  he  irri- 
gates, and  is  measured  by  the  length  of  time  he  uses  the  known 
head.  This  method  of  rotation  secures  the  maximum  of  economy 
both  of  water  and  of  the  irrigators'  time.  It  requires  sublaterals 
of  a  capacity  to  carry  the  head  used,  but  effects  a  large  saving  in 
the  installation  and  operation  of  measuring  devices,  since  it  is 
only  necessary  to  provide  one  module  for  each  group  of  irrigators 
using  a  single  head. 

The  lateral  system  in  use  prior  to  the  advent  of  the  Govern- 
ment project  was  generally  inefficient  and  inadequate.  The 
structures  were  of  wood,  largely  decayed,  and  the  laterals  silted 
and  weedy.  Many  of  the  farms  were  served  each  with  a  separate 
lateral  from  the  main  canal  or  main  lateral,  and  thus  two,  three, 
four,  five,  or  six  laterals  were  operated  parallel  and  side  by  side. 
This,  of  course,  was  wasteful  of  labor  and  of  water.  To  a  large 
extent  the  old  systems  were  rebuilt.  Nearly  all  the  canals  have 
been  enlarged  and  concrete  structures  substituted  for  wood.  An 
ideal  distribution  system  is  favored  by  the  even  and  adequate 
slope  of  the  land. 

In  general,  each  section  of  irrigated  land  has  a  waste  ditch 
at  its  lowest  corner  which  carries  the  surplus  irrigation"  water  to 
a  lateral  from  which  it  can  be  again  applied  in  irrigation. 

Some  of  the  lower  lands  of  the  Valley  have  been  injured  by  the 
rise  of  ground  water  and  alkali,  and  such  lands  have  generally 
been  excluded  from  the  Government  project.  It  is  hoped  that 
the  high  degree  of  economy  which  is  being  attained  in  this  Valley 
by  the  rotation  system  and  the  universal  charge  for  water  by 
the  quantity  used  will  largely  prevent  over-irrigation  so  common 
in  other  regions.  No  material  spread  of  seepage  has  been  ob- 
served since  the  reservoir  was  brought  into  service,  and  no  drain- 
age works  have  been  undertaken  nor  planned. 

The  construction  of  the  Salt  River  Project  was  in  charge  of 
Louis  C.  Hill  from  the  first,  with  Geo.  Y.  Wisner  and  W.  H. 
Sanders  as  consulting  engineers.  The  power  and  pumping  equip- 
ment and  the  balanced  valves  were  all  designed  by  O.  H.  Ensign. 


IRRIGATION    PRACTICE  33 

WATER   DELIVERY 

The  lateral  sj'stem  on  the  Salt  River  Project  was  so  designed 
as  to  deliver  to  each  quarter  section  of  land  a  head  of  10  cubic 
feet  of  water  per  second.  For  many  years  the  custom  was  fol- 
lowed of  delivering  such  head  for  a  period  of  24  hours  in  every 
eight-day  period,  i.e.,  water  delivered  24  hours  and  seven  days 
without  water. 

This  system  was  used  in  the  main  during  the  years  when  water 
was  delivered  on  a  flat-rate  basis,  the  charge  at  that  time  being 
generally  SI. 60  per  acre  per  year. 

In  1912  the  basis  of  charge  was  changed  from  the  flat  rate  to 
payment  for  quantity  of  water  used  in  order  to  encourage  economy, 
and  the  rigid  rotation  system  was  abandoned.  Water  is  now 
being  delivered  in  large  heads,  but  instead  of  a  regular  rotation 
deliveries  are  being  made  in  accordance  with  requests  which  are 
required  to  be  presented  24  hours  or  more  in  advance  of  the  need. 
From  these  requests,  rotation  schedules  are  made  up  from  day  to 
day  as  far  in  advance  as  possible,  and  in  most  cases  it  is  feasible 
to  deliver  water  in  accordance  with  the  requests  made. 

In  extremely  hot  weather  during  the  maximum  demand  for 
water,  these  requests  frequently  conflict  to  such  an  extent  as  to 
make  their  fulfillment  impossible,  and  in  those  cases  the  irrigators 
are  notified  that  the  water  will  be  delivered  on  a  rotation  system. 

When  a  lateral  is  placed  on  a  strictly  rotation  basis,  it  is  the 
custom  to  begin  at  the  lower  end  and  work  up  to  the  head  of  the 
lateral,  giving  to  every  water -user  a  head  of  from  7}/£  to  10  cubic 
feet  per  second  for  from  24  to  36  hours  for  each  quarter  section  of 
land.  Generally  when  the  demand  for  water  at  any  particular  time, 
has  been  greater  than  the  capacity  of  the  canal  to  supply,  it  is 
necessary  only  to  advise  the  farmer  that  the  canal  would  be  placed 
on  a  regular  rotation  basis  and  the  demand  immediately  decreases, 
the  farmer  being  willing  to  wait  a  few  days  for  water  rather  than 
have  the  canal  placed  on  regular  rotation. 

The  delivery  head,  however,  is  the  same  for  both  plans  of 
delivery,  and  the  method  followed  on  the  Salt  River  Project  is 
the  most  economical,  both  of  time  and  of  water,  which  seems  to 
be  practicable.  However,  handling  water  under  such  large  heads 
requires  larger  sublaterals,  larger  farm  ditches,  better  preparation, 
and  greater  skill  to  irrigate  than  when  water  is  delivered  in  smaller 
heads. 


CHAPTER  III 
THE    YUMA  PROJECT 

DESCRIPTION 

The  Colorado  River  is  formed  by  the  junction  of  the  Green 
and  the  Grand  Rivers,  which  unite  in  southeastern  Utah.  From 
that  point  for  a  distance  of  more  than  1,000  miles  the  Colorado 
flows  through  the  most  profound,  extensive,  and  precipitous  canyons 
on  earth.  Through  these  canyons  it  falls  a  vertical  distance  of 
nearly  4,000  feet,  and  receives  many  important  tributaries  of  still 
greater  slope  in  precipitous  gorges.  It  emerges  from  its  canyons 
as  the  boundary-line  between  Arizona  and  Nevada,  heavily  laden 
with  sediment  gathered  from  the  rocks  and  hills  on  the  way.  With 
this  sediment  the  river  has  built  an  immense  delta  at  its  mouth  in 
the  Gulf  of  California.  It  has  forced  this  delta  entirely  across 
the  Gulf,  and  isolated  the  head  of  the  Gulf,  forming  an  inland 
depression  in  Southern  California,  known  as  the  Salton  Sea. 
The  valleys  of  the  Lower  Colorado  are  typically  those  of  a  silt- 
laden  stream  overflowing  its  banks  annually  in  the  season  of  high 
water,  and  depositing  a  portion  of  its  load  of  sediment  on  the 
adjacent  valley.  In  order  to  cultivate  these  valleys  successfully, 
it  is  necessary  to  protect  them  with  levees. 

The  Yuma  Project  provides  for  the  diversion  of  the  Colorado 
River  about  10  miles  above  Yuma  into  two  canal  systems.  One 
on  the  California  side  of  the  River,  to  irrigate  lands  on  the  Yuma 
Indian  Reservation,  and  by  crossing  under  the  Colorado  River 
near  Yuma  to  irrigate  lands  on  the  Arizona  side  below  Yuma. 
The  other  canal  system  heading  on  the  Arizona  side,  watering 
lands  east  of  the  Colorado  and  north  of  the  Gila  River. 

It  is  also  expected  ultimately  to  pump  water  from  the  gravity 
canals  to  irrigate  land  on  the  mesa  south  of  Yuma,  and  a  small 
tract  above  the  canal  in  the  Gila  Valley. 

LAGUNA   DAM 

The  diversion  dam  is  located  about  12  miles  above  Yuma 
at  the  most  southerly  site  on  the  Colorado  River,  where  it  is 
feasible  to  locate  a  dam  with  rock  abutments  at  both  ends. 

34 


CALIFORNIA 


MAXIMUM 
.  7._plan  and  Sectio 


3000  3500 

GS  ON  LINE  A 


1000  1500 


ON  C-D 

una  Dam,  Colorado  River. 


LACUNA    DAM  35 

The  dam  consists  mainly  of  three  parallel  concrete  walls  across 
the  valley  with  intervals  between  the  walls  filled  with  loose  rock 
and  the  surface  paved  with  concrete  18  inches  in  thickness.  A  por- 
tion of  the  paving  was  done  with  granite  blocks,  and  this  was  the 
original  design,  which  was  abandoned  because  sufficient  suitable 
rock  was  not  available  from  the  quarries. 

The  concrete  pavement  was  laid  in  place  in  blocks  10'  X  15' 
partially  separated  by  cracks  to  serve  as  weepers,  formed  by  in- 
serting a  specially  prepared  board  on  edge,  7  feet  in  length  and 

1  inch  thick,  which  was  withdrawn  when  the  concrete  had  set. 
The  surface  of  the  pavement  was  roughened  by  inserting  in  the 
concrete,  at  irregular  intervals,  sound  rock  projecting  a  few  inches 
above  the  concrete.     The  purpose  of  these  rocks  was  to  retard 
the  flow  of  water  and  prevent  excessive  velocities,  in  which  respect 
they  are  very  efficient,  being  assisted  by  driftwood  which  lodges 
upon  them.     It  is  doubtful,  however,  whether  they  are  really 
necessary. 

Each  concrete  wall  is  5  feet  in  thickness,  and  the  interval  of 
space  filled  with  loose  rock  is  57^  feet  between  the  up-stream  and 
the  middle  walls,  and  93^  feet  between  the  middle  and  lower 
walls.  A  fill  of  loose  rock  was  placed  above  the  upper  wall  on  a 

2  to  1  slope.     Below  the  lower  wall,  a  blanket  or  apron  of  large 
rocks  about  40  feet  wide  was  dumped  on  the  river-bed  and  brought 
approximately  to  a  line  with  the  pavement  on  the  dam,  in  order 
to  protect  the  concrete  wall  from  undercutting.     The  pavement 
on  the  dam  slopes  uniformly  from  the  top  of  the  upper  wall  to  the 
top  of  the  lower  wall  on  a  slope  of  1  foot  vertical  to  12  feet  horizon- 
tal.    The  abutments  of  the  dam  are  founded  on  rock,  the  remainder 
resting  upon  the  alluvial  deposit  of  the  valley,  which  was  excavated 
to  an  average  depth  of  about  12  feet,  except  in  the  river-bed,  where 
the  excavation  was  very  slight. 

Perhaps  the  most  difficult  problem  in  connection  with  this 
diversion  is  the  handling  of  the  silt  with  which  the  river  is  heavily 
laden,  and  which  quickly  fills  the  canals  if  permitted,  a  difficulty 
which  has  forced  the  abandonment  of  most  of  the  private  canals 
which  take  water  from  the  river. 

This  problem  is  met  at  Laguna  Dam  by  a  combination  of 
settling  and  sluicing  devices,  and  a  process  of  admitting  only  the 
surface  of  the  water  into  the  canals.  A  settling  basin  is  provided 
at  the  head  of  each  canal,  where  the  flowing  water  is  checked  to 


KO  Win.)  i>««  -joo-j  f    III 

Uons-fcms-o*-!        <| 

.K  '3U1PPIU8  «•  i  r,  jo 


LACUNA   DAM  37 

a  velocity  near  one  foot  per  second  and  drops  its  heaviest  sedi- 
ment. This  is  sluiced  out  periodically  by  opening  large  sluice- 
gates which  make  available  for  sluicing  purposes  all  the  head 
afforded  by  the  dam,  which  is  about  10  feet  at  ordinary  stages  and 
less  at  high  water.  This  usually  generates  velocities  of  from  15 
to  20  feet  per  second. 

The  water  is  taken  into  the  canal  over  an  adjustable  weir 
of  such  length  that  a  comparatively  thin  sheet  flows  over  it, 
carrying  only  the  smaller  and  lighter  particles  of  sediment,  which 
are  for  the  most  part  carried  by  the  canals  upon  the  land,  where 
they  are  of  value  for  fertilizing  the  fields. 

The  sluiceways  are  both  built  in  rock  which  was  so  badly 
disintegrated  that  it  was  necessary  to  line  them  heavily  with 
concrete  throughout.  The  California  sluiceway  has  a  bottom 
width  of  116  feet.  It  has  three  sluice-gates  of  the  Stoney  type, 
built  of  steel,  operating  on  cast-iron  rollers,  with  a  height  of  18 
feet  and  a  span  of  35  feet;  the  piers  have  a  total  height  of  41  feet 
above  the  floor  of  the  sluicing  channel.  The  gates  are  electrically 
operated  from  a  25-kilowatt  generator  actuated  by  a  gasoline 
engine. 

The  sluiceway  on  the  Arizona  side,  which  serves  a  much  smaller 
canal,  is  40  feet  in  bottom  width,  and  is  controlled  by  a  single 
gate,  similar  in  design  to  those  above  mentioned. 

The  construction  of  the  Laguna  Dam  and  sluiceways  was  let 
by  contract  in  1905,  but,  owing  to  financial  difficulties,  was  aban- 
doned by  the  contractor  and  finished  by  Government  forces. 

The  material  and  supplies  used  by  the  contractor  were  de- 
livered at  Yuma  by  rail  and  shipped  up  the  river  by  steamer. 
The  swift  current  and  shoal  and  shifting  channel  of  the  river 
made  this  shipment  so  difficult  and  uncertain  that  team  hauling 
was  resorted  to,  with  no  better  success,  owing  to  bad  roads  and 
scarcity  of  teams.  When  the  United  States  took  over  the  work 
a  railway  was  built  on  the  levee  on  the  California  side,  from 
Yuma  to  the  Laguna  Dam,  and  supplies  were  delivered  at  the 
dam  site  by  rail. 

The  rock  for  construction  was  obtained  at  the  ends  of  the  dam, 
but  was  so  badly  decomposed  that  the  waste  was  large  and  great 
difficulty  was  encountered  in  obtaining  a  sufficient  quantity  of 
sound  rock  for  the  purposes.  The  rock  was  loaded  upon  cars 
by  means  of  derricks  and  hauled  to  the  work  with  dinky  locomo- 

71990 


38  THE    YUMA    PROJECT 

tives.  The  concrete  was  similarly  transported  from  mixers  near 
the  quarries. 

To  protect  the  work  from  high  water,  cofferdams  were  built 
above  and  below  the  dam  site  with  earth  and  waste  from  the 
quarries.  The  excavation  into  the  alluvial  valley  for  the  dam 
structure  was  made  partly  by  teams,  but  mainly  with  suction 
dredges,  actuated  by  gas  engines  using  distillate  for  fuel,  which 
was  obtained  from  the  Pacific  Coast,  at  an  average  cost  of  ten 
cents  per  gallon  at  the  work. 

The  cofferdams  were  advanced  from  both  sides  of  the  valley 
until  the  river  channel  was  reached,  leaving  a  gap  of  about  800 
feet.  The  sluiceways  at  both  ends  were  finished  and  put  in  shape 
to  carry  the  stream  past  the  dam  site. 

A  trestle  was  built  across  the  river  above  the  line  of  the  upper 
cofferdam  and  the  railroad  track  carried  across  the  trestle  and 
connected  with  quarries  at  each  end  of  the  dam.  The  available 
equipment  was  then  put  to  work  night  and  day  to  dump  rock  and 
spoil  from  the  quarries  into  the  river  as  rapidly  as  possible.  By 
pushing  this  work  faster  than  the  river  could  carry  the  rock 
away,  the  water  was  steadily  raised  until  it  flowed  through  the 
sluiceways  and  stood  then  11  feet  above  its  previous  level.  This 
operation  required  14  days.  In  a  similar  manner,  but  more  easily, 
the  lower  cofferdam  was  built,  and  the  river  channel  was  then 
unwatered.  Over  81,000  cubic  yards  of  rock  were  dumped  from 
these  trestles. 

For  mixing,  concrete  rock  was  obtained  from  the  ends  of 
the  dam  and  cement  was  shipped  from  lola,  Kansas,  and  from 
the  Pacific  Coast.  The  price  of  cement  ranged  from  $2.84  to 
$3.53  per  barrel  on  the  work.  The  sand  found  locally  was  ex- 
tremely fine  and  was  supplemented  by  crushing  granite  between 
rolls  to  supply  coarser  particles.  The  proportions  of  the  con- 
crete were  1:3:7.  The  mixing  was  all  done  by  machinery. 

The  original  design  contemplated  piling  only  under  the  crest 
wall,  but  the  treacherous  nature  of  the  foundation  rendered  it 
necessary  also  under  the  other  walls  in  places. 

The  excavation  for  the  sluiceways  and  canals  furnished  so 
little  good  rock  that  it  became  necessary  to  open  quarries  at 
other  points,  and  the  waste  from  these  was  large.  This  greatly 
increased  the  rock  excavation. 

During  the  closure  of  the  river  a  heavy  flood  of  considerable 


LAGUNA   DAM 


39 


duration  occurred  which  scoured  out  the  river  and  increased  the 
rockfill.  The  earth  excavation  was  also  increased  by  caving 
banks  and  uneven  dredging. 

These  changes  from  the  original  design  affected  the  quantities 
as  follows: 


As  Designed, 
Cubic  Yards 

As  Executed, 
Cubic  Yards 

Rock  excavation 

305,000 

444,600 

Earth  excavation 

282000 

346  900 

Rockfill  in  dam 

305000 

375000 

Concrete  

27,150 

76,000 

Rock  paving  
Sheet  piling  

80,000  Sq.  Yds. 
53,000  L.  Ft. 

5,300  Sq.  Yds. 
82,800  L.  Ft. 

The  common  labor  employed  on  the  dam  was  mostly  Mexicans 
and  Indians,  with  a  few  white  floaters  in  the  winter.  The  skilled 
labor,  foreman  and  mechanics,  were  mostly  white. 

COST  OF  LAGUNA  DAM  AND  HEADTVORKS 


Excavation,  Class  3,  307,746  cu.  yds.  a 
Class  2,  114,746        " 
Rock  in  dam,              260,697        "        ' 
Rock  paving,                  5,391  sq.  yds.   ' 
Concrete  core-walls,     15,718  cu.  yds.   ' 
Concrete  paving,          26,598        "        ' 
Sheet  piling,                  32,776  feet          ' 
Protection,  clearing,  cleaning  up,  etc 

t  $2  075 

$638807 

1.17 

134  143 

.798... 
1.702.  .  . 
11.318... 

208,060 
9,175 
177,905 

9.272.  .  . 

246,620 

1.297 

42530 

210  052 

Administration  
Total,  Laguna  Dam  

5,538 

$1,672,830 

Sluice  and  regulator-gates,  Arizona  side  

...$119,100 

Sluice  and  regulator-gates,  California  side 
Total.  . 

232,725         351,825 

.     $2.024.655 

CANAL   SYSTEM 

The  main  canal  of  the  Yuma  Project  heads  at  the  California 
end  of  the  Laguna  Dam,  and  follows  the  margin  of  the  Valley 
for  a  distance  of  10  miles  to  a  point  3  miles  due  north  of  Yuma. 
Here  occurs  a  drop  of  10  feet,  and  the  canal  runs  directly  to  the 
Colorado  River,  which  it  passes  under  through  a  pressure  tunnel 


40  THE    YUMA    PROJECT 

about  100  feet  below  the  river  level.  A  short  distance  below  this 
point  the  canal  divides,  one  branch  following  the  foot  of  the  mesa 
and  the  other  traversing  the  high  ground  near  the  river.  Both 
branches  extend  nearly  to  the  Mexican  boundary  and  command 
all  the  irrigable  land  in  the  lower  valley. 

The  eastern  branch  will  also  carry  water  to  be  lifted  about 
80  feet  to  the  top  of  the  mesa,  where  about  40,000  acres  may 
eventually  be  irrigated. 

At  its  head  the  main  canal  has  a  capacity  of  1,700  cubic  feet 
per  second,  has  a  bottom  width  of  65  feet,  a  water  depth  of  7.2 
feet,  and  a  slope  of  .000175,  which  will  give  it  a  mean  velocity  of 
about  3.5  feet  per  second.  This  section  continues  through  the 
rocky  hills  a  distance  of  a  mile  and  a  half.  When  the  open  valley 
is  reached,  the  canal  widens  to  107  feet  on  the  bottom  with  a 
depth  of  7  feet  and  a  slope  of  .00005,  which  gives  a  mean  velocity 
of  about  2.5  feet  per  second,  and  this  velocity  is  approximately 
maintained  as  a  minimum  throughout  the  system,  except  through 
the  siphon  at  Yuma,  where  the  velocity  is  greatly  increased. 

At  the  point  where  the  canal  turns  away  from  the  river  !}/£ 
miles  below  the  head  a  sluiceway  is  provided  by  opening  which 
high  velocities  can  be  induced  in  the  main  canal  above  the  sluice, 
and  also  for  a  short  distance  below,  in  order  to  clear  it  of  accumu- 
lations of  sediment. 

Laterals  are  taken  out  of  the  main  canal  for  the  irrigation 
of  the  valley  on  the  California  side,  and  on  reaching  the  siphon 
the  capacity  is  1,400  cubic  feet  per  second. 

About  10  miles  below  the  heading,  where  the  main  canal 
leaves  the  foot  of  the  mesa  and  turns  southward  toward  Yuma, 
a  drop  of  about  10  feet  in  the  water  level  occurs  to  bring  the 
canal  to  the  level  of  the  lower  valley.  It  has  been  proposed 
at  this  point  to  develop  hydro-electric  power  to  be  transmitted  to 
a  point  below  Yuma  and  used  for  pumping  water  from  the  main 
canal  about  80  feet  to  the  top  of  the  mesa,  for  the  irrigation  of 
30,000  to  40,000  acres  of  land.  This  drop  is  in  the  form  of  a 
siphon  spillway.  It  contains  ten  siphons  which  can  be  adjusted 
to  discharge  at  different  levels,  and  all  employed  when  the  canal 
is  running  full.  Their  combined  capacity  is  2,500  cubic  feet  per 
second,  and  they  serve  to  keep  the  water  above  at  nearly  a  con- 
stant level.  The  structure  is  of  reinforced  concrete  and  cost 
about  $23,000.  Plan  and  section  are  shown  on  page  41. 


/((£ 

Joil 

f/ 

y  y^  y_y^ 

:      Siphon  Spillway 

y  y  y  |u  u  ii«??s^s— 

« 

Si_ 

SECTION  A-A 

FIG.  9. — Plan  and  Section  of  Siphon  Spillway. 


42  THE    YUMA    PROJECT 

The  first  section  of  the  California  Main  Canal,  extending  from 
Laguna  Dam  to  the  heading  of  the  Indian  Reservation  Canal,  a 
distance  of  7,600  feet,  was  mostly  through  foothill  country,  in- 
volving a  large  amount  of  heavy  cutting  and  rockwork.  143,952 
cubic  yards  were  done  by  steam  shovel  and  cost  $87,825,  or  61 
cents  per  cubic  yard.  84,945  cubic  yards  were  done  with  teams 
for  $29,000,  or  34  cents  per  cubic  yard. 

The  second  section  was  divided  into  six  schedules,  as  follows: 


Length, 

YARDAGE 

Feet 

Class  1 

Class  2 

Class  3 

1         

9,900 

214,164 

2,399 

1,703 

$46,521 

2 

3 

7,500 
7,500 

206,812 
218,198 

12,059 

10,096 

46,995 
46,664 

4 

7,500 

212,193 

1,652 

42,538 

5 

7,500 

213,272 

23 

44,090 

6 

8,000 

•"N  <t()4 

3822 

1,540 

49973 

Section  3  included  the  canal  from  the  siphon  spillway  to  the 
Colorado  River,  a  distance  of  16,000  feet.  It  had  a  bottom  width 
of  80  feet,  a  depth  of  7  feet,  side  slopes  2  to  1,  a  gradient  of  .0001, 
and  capacity  of  1,400  cubic-seconds.  The  first  part  of  this  work 
in  economic  cut  included  297,651  cubic  yards  and  cost  $52,457, 
or  17.6  cents  per  yard.  The  second  part  involved  a  heavy  em- 
bankment across  the  Big  Slough  and  a  long  haul  with  scrapers. 
It  involved  68,523  cubic  yards  and  cost  $26,939,  or  39.3  cents  per 
cubic  yard.  There  were  also  12,000  square  yards  of  riprap,  cost- 
ing $16,157,  or  1.34  cents  per  square  yard. 


STRUCTURES   ON   CALIFORNIA   MAIN    CANAL 

Seven  thousand  eight  hundred  feet  from  the  dam  is  the  heading 
of  the  Indian  Reservation  Canal,  with  a  capacity  of  250  cubic  feet 
per  second.  It  is  a  reinforced  concrete  structure  containing  four 
cast-iron  hand-operated  gates,  each  4X4  feet,  and  a  bridge  over 
the  branch  canal  is  included  in  the  same  structure,  costing  $4,138. 

In  the  same  vicinity  is  a  check  and  bridge  across  the  main 
canal.  The  check  contains  seven  openings  controlled  from  the 
bridge  by  stop  planks. 


44  THE    YUMA    PROJECT 

The  main  canal  and  structures  cost  as  follows: 

Location  and  designs $20,172 

Excavation,  Class  1,  1,744,672  cu.  yds.  at  21.8  cents 381,337 

Class  2,         7,646        "        "  28.2     "     2,150 

Class  3,     147,195        "        "61.2     "     90,035 

Riprap,  9,292  sq.  yds.  at  $2.46 22,887 

Repairs 3,050 

Wooden  bridge  and  check 574 

California  road 418 

Concrete  check  and  wasteway 28,838 

Siphon  spillway,  first  construction 13,938 

Bridge  and  check 5,360 

Drainage  culvert 7,174 

Picacho  Bridge 4,159 

Powell  Bridge 2,929 

Yuma  Main  Canal,  California,  total $583,021 

Yuma  Pressure  Conduit. — The  pressure  tunnel  under  the 
river  at  Yuma  is  1,000  feet  long,  circular  in  shape,  and  14  feet  in 
diameter.  It  has  a  vertical  shaft  at  each  end  and  at  full  capacity 
will  have  a  velocity  of  9  feet  per  second. 

In  considering  the  pressure  tunnel  or  siphon  to  convey  the 
main  canal  from  the  California  to  the  Arizona  side  of  the  river, 
the  question  naturally  arises  why  the  water  for  the  lower  lands 
in  Arizona  is  not  taken  from  the  Arizona  end  of  the  Laguna  Dam, 
avoiding  thereby  the  crossing  of  the  Colorado.  This  alternative 
was  carefully  considered  and  was  indeed  the  first  plan  proposed 
and  estimated.  A  glance  at  the  map  will  show  that  the  distance 
from  Laguna  Dam  to  Yuma  by  the  California  Canal  is  much 
shorter  than  the  contour  on  the  Arizona  side.  The  crossing 
under  the  Colorado  is  1,000  feet  long,  between  permanent  banks, 
while  the  Arizona  Canal  would  involve  a  crossing  of  the  Gila 
River  at  a  point  where  no  permanent  banks  were  available,  and 
where  levees  would  be  required  to  control  the  river,  and  the 
crossing  structure  would  have  to  be  at  least  3,000  feet  in  length. 
It  also  involved  either  a  tunnel  or  a  long  heavy  rock  cut  through 
the  mesa  east  of  Yuma.  The  California  route  was  therefore 
both  safer  and  cheaper,  and  being  much  shorter  consumed  less 
head,  and  thus  secured  an  important  power  site  not  available  on 
the  Arizona  side. 

A  flume  crossing  of  the  Colorado  at  grade  is  impracticable 


m 


!•» 


46  THE    YUMA    PROJECT 

because  the  canal,  held  as  high  as  the  level  of  the  valley  will  permit, 
reached  the  river  with  bottom  elevation  at  125  feet  above  sea 
level  and  water  surface  at  132.  The  surface  of  the  Colorado  in 
flood  may  lie  anywhere  between  125  and  134,  and  thus  its  channel 
would  be  blocked  by  the  flume. 

Borings  showed  the  presence  of  a  soft  seamy  sandstone  at  a 
depth  in  midstream  of  50  feet  below  low-water  level,  dipping 
toward  the  north  to  a  depth  of  80  feet  below  ground  surface  at 
the  northern  intake.  Overlying  the  sandstone  and  forming  the  river 
bed  is  a  very  fine  sand. 

At  each  end  of  the  tunnel  a  shaft  was  sunk  by  carrying  down 
a  concrete  caisson  17  feet  inside  diameter  on  the  California  side, 
and  23  feet  in  diameter  on  the  Arizona  side,  from  which  it  was 
expected  to  drive  the  tunnel.  Each  caisson  was  provided  with 
a  cutting  edge  in  the  form  of  a  steel  plate  %  inch  in  thickness 
and  3^  feet  wide,  reinforced  with  channel  and  plate.  The  con- 
crete sloped  from  this  steel  edge  to  a  thickness  of  5  feet,  which  it 
held  for  a  height  of  4  feet,  and  was  then  reduced  by  offset  to  3^ 
feet. 

These  caissons  were  sunk  first  by  excavating  the  material 
within  and  under  the  cutting  edge  with  hand  tools,  keeping  the 
water  down  by  means  of  pumps.  At  length  the  difference  of 
pressure  outside  and  inside  led  to  "blows"  or  sudden  inflows  of 
sand  and  water  in  large  quantities  until  further  progress  by  this 
method  was  stopped.  The  caisson  was  then  allowed  to  fill  with 
water,  and  the  pressures  being  thus  equalized  the  blows  ceased. 
A  clam-shell  dredge  was  employed  to  dredge  the  material  from 
inside  the  caisson,  and  heavy  weights  of  steel  rails  and  cement 
were  employed  to  force  the  caisson  down.  These  methods  were 
supplemented  by  jetting  water  around  the  circumference  to  over- 
come the  skin  friction  and  by  "shooting"  the  material  under 
the  cutting  edge  where  the  dredge  could  not  reach.  Divers  were 
employed  to  place  shots  below  the  cutting  edges. 

At  last  the  caissons  were  sunk  to  the  required  depth,  and 
efforts  were  made  to  consolidate  the  quicksand  along  the  section 
of  the  tunnel  by  grouting  it,  so  that  the  caisson  could  be  opened 
and  excavation  carried  on.  After  numerous  abortive  attempts 
these  efforts  were  abandoned  and  the  pneumatic  process  resorted 
to.  Air  locks  were  installed,  and  pressures  up  to  32  pounds  per 
square  inch  were  used.  The  excavation  of  the  upper  half  of  the 


PRESSURE    TUNNEL  47 

tunnel  required  27  to  28  pounds,  and  after  this  was  completed  a 
short  distance  the  pressure  was  increased  to  32  pounds  and  the 
lower  half  excavated.  Steel  rings  composed  of  shapes  1X3  feet 


FIG.  12. — Yuma  Pressure  Tunnel,  under  Construction. 

were  used  as  temporary  lining  for  the  arch  immediately  behind 
the  excavation,  and  a  concrete  lining  completed  the  work. 

The  rock  in  which  the  tunnel  is  located  is  a  soft  porous  sand- 
stone, containing  many  fine  seams,  through  which  the  compressed 
air  escaped  rapidly.  In  the  interval  between  the  excavation  of 
the  rock  and  the  placing  of  the  concrete  lining,  it  was  necessary 
to  keep  the  unlined  rock  plastered  with  clay  to  prevent  the 
escape  of  air. 

The  tunnel  is  designed  to  carry  about  1,400  cubic  feet  of 
water  per  second  with  a  loss  of  head  of  2  feet.  It  is  circular  in 
cross-section,  with  a  diameter  of  14  feet.  The  concrete  lining  is 
24  inches  in  thickness.  The  shaft  on  the  California  side  of  the 
river  has  a  diameter  of  14  feet,  and  that  on  the  Arizona  side  is 
20  feet  in  diameter.  The  tunnel  was  driven  entirely  from  the 
Arizona  heading. 


48 


THE    YUMA    PROJECT 


COSTS  OP  PRESSURE  CONDUIT 

Boring  and  testing 

California  shaft 

Arizona  shaft 

Pressure  tunnel 


$  2,375 
117,106 
147,592 
410,575 


Total $677,648 

Yuma  Valley  Canals. — Theimain  canal  heading  at  the  Arizona 
shaft  has  a  capacity  of  l,400dcubic  feet  per  second,  a  bottom 
width  of  78  feet,  water  depth,  7  feet,  side  slopes  2  to  1,  and 
gradient  of  .0001.  It  extends  about  5,000  feet  to  the  intersection 
of  Second  Street  and  Eleventh  Avenue,  where  it  divides  into 
two  branches,  the  East  and  West  Canals,  each  of  which  is  provided 
with  control  gates  set  in  a  masonry  structure.  Below  this  point, 
the  East  Branch  has  a  capacity  of  840  cubic  feet  per  second,  and 
the  West  Branch  520  cubic  feet  per  second. 

The  ten  main  diversions  from  the  East  Branch  Canal  are  as 
follows : 


Miles 

Capacity, 

SIZE  I 

lELOW 

Name 

Below 

Second- 

Depth 

Slope 

Branch 

Feet 

Capacity 

Bottom 
Width 

Mesa  (proposed) 

2^ 

500 

340 

40 

4 

.0002 

Central  Canal 

5l/2 

160 

200 

18 

4 

.00025 

Donovan 

6 

20 

200 

18 

4 

.00025 

Yarwood 

6^ 

30 

160 

14.5 

4 

.000275 

Hopkins 

7 

20 

160 

14.5 

4 

.000275 

Somerton     ' 

10 

80 

80 

11.5 

3 

.0003 

Havens        ' 

11 

20 

80 

11.5 

3 

.0003 

Harris          ' 

12M 

20 

60 

11.5 

2.5 

.00032 

Stevenson    ' 

16 

20 

40 

7.6 

2.5 

.00033 

Thurman     ' 

16M 

20 

20 

5 

2 

.0004 

These  branches  are  all  taken  out  through  reinforced  concrete 
structures,  to  and  including  the  Somerton  diversion.  The  small 
structures  below  that  point  are  of  wood. 

The  quantities  and  cost  of  the  main  structures  along  the  East 
Branch  Canal  are  shown  in  table  on  opposite  page. 

The  West  Branch  Canal  begins  with  a  capacity  of  520  cubic 
seconds,  where  the  bottom  width  is  40  feet,  the  water  depth  5 
feet,  and  gradient  .0002.  It  decreases  as  laterals  are  taken  out, 
and  is  in  general  designed  and  constructed  along  the  same  lines 
as  the  East  Branch  Canal. 


LATERAL    SYSTEM 


49 


Excavatior 
Cubic 
Yards 


Reinforced 

Concrete, 

Cubic  Yards 


Riprap, 
Square 
Yards 


Cost 


3rd  Street  Bridge 

8th  Street  Bridge; 

Drop  below  mesa  div .  .  .  . 
Canal  head  and  check .  .  .  . 

Drop  below  Donovan 

Yarwood  heading 

Hopkins  head  and  check .  . 
Somerton  head  and  check . 


1,200 

175 

560 

300 

125 

60 

85 

100 


304 

304 

467 

184 

52 

40 

65 

100 


204 
327 
909 
279 
219 
50 
160 
200 


$8,734 
9,334 

13,559 
6,023 
3,615 
2,000 
3,125 
4,475 


Lateral  System. — The  lateral  distribution  system  on  the  Yuma 
Project  is  designed  and  built  for  irrigation  by  the  rotation  system. 
It  is  customary  to  deliver  to  each  irrigator  a  head  of  from  10  to  12 
cubic  feet  per  second  for  such  time  as  may  be  required  to  irrigate 
his  fields  and  then  turn  the  water  to  the  next  irrigator,  leaving  all 
other  sublaterals  dry.  This  is  economical  of  water,  minimizes 
seepage  losses,  and,  above  all,  economizes  the  irrigators'  time.  It 
requires,  of  course,  the  sublateral  system  and  the  farm  ditches  to 
be  constructed  of  a  capacity  to  handle  such  heads. 

YUMA  PROJECT  DISTRIBUTION  SYSTEM 

Reservation  Distribution  System: 

Location  of  canals $     1,480 

Excavation,  all  classes,  868,312  cu.  yds.  at  25  cents 218,286 

Structures 82,207 

Repairs. 20,513 

Total $322,486 

Gila  Valley  Distribution  System: 

Location  of  canals $     3,791 

Excavation,  all  classes,  393,000  cu.  yds.  at  28  cents 109,505 

Installation  pumping  plant 10,490 

Repairs 6,224 

Rainwater  flume  and  bridge 2,032 

Sluiceway  structure 6,068 

Levee  Canal  Turnout 704 

Adkins  Turnout 344 

Osmond  Turnout 462 

Boyle  Turnout 655 

McPherson  Turnout 1,827 

Main  Canal  Check 1,036 

Wooden  structures 10,330 

Total . . ,  $153,468 


50  THE   YUMA   PROJECT 


LEVEE   SYSTEM 

The  bottom  lands  of  the  Yuma  Valley  are  above  the  level 
of  ordinary  river  stages,  but  they  are  subject  in  their  natural  state 
to  overflow  at  high  flood  stages  of  the  river.  To  prevent  this, 
an  extensive  system  of  levees  has  been  designed  along  the  banks 
of  the  Colorado  from  Laguna  Dam  to  the  Southern  Pacific  Railway 
on  the  west  side,  and  to  the  mouth  of  the  Gila  on  the  east  side. 
Also  from  the  Yuma  Mesa  along  the  east  bank  to  the  Mexican 
boundary.  The  right  bank  of  the  Gila  is  also  to  be  protected 
from  its  mouth  to  high  ground  near  its  emergence  from  the  hills. 

The  levees  are  designed  to  stand  about  3^  feet  above  maximum 
floods  in  the  river.  The  side  slopes  are  3  to  1  on  both  sides,  with 
top  width  of  about  10  feet.  Some  of  the  earlier  levees  were  given 
slopes  of  23/2  to  1  on  the  land  side,  but  the  tendency  to  slough 
when  saturated  led  to  the  adoption  of  the  flatter  slopes  on  later 
work.  As  a  rule  a  cut-off  trench  is  provided  under  the  water 
slope  of  the  levee  and  filled  with  good  material.  Material  for 
construction  of  the  levees  is  obtained  from  borrow  pits  on  the 
river  side,  which  are  discontinuous  so  as  not  to  induce  erosive 
currents.  As  a  further  precaution  in  this  direction,  low  brush 
dikes  are  constructed  as  spurs  on  the  river  side  of  the  main  levee. 

The  total  length  of  levees  is  about  70  miles.  About  three- 
quarters  of  this  has  been  constructed,  requiring  the  movement  of 
about  2,700,000  cubic  yards  of  earth,  at  an  average  cost  of  25  cents 
per  cubic  yard. 

These  levees  are,  of  course,  subject  to  attack  from  burrowing 
animals,  but  the  main  menace  is  from  erosion  by  the  meandering 
stream,  which  may  undermine  the  levee  without  even  wetting  its 
base.  Protection  against  this  menace  is  difficult  and  expensive. 
The  method  so  far  employed  is  to  blanket  the  levee  on  the  water 
slope  with  a  large  amount  of  rock,  which  is  dumped  from  cars 
hauled  to  the  spot  on  a  railway  provided  on  the  crown.  When 
the  current  attacks  the  bank  at  the  foot  of  the  rockfill,  the  rock 
falls  to  the  bottom  of  the  caving  bank  and  checks  the  erosive 
action.  Additional  rock  is  supplied  until  the  erosion  ceases  and 
the  river  flows  along  the  rockfill  and  parallel  to  it.  This  method 
has  been  effective  in  all  cases,  but  requires  a  railroad  the  entire 
length  of  each  levee,  communicating  with  the  rock  quarries  at 
Laguna  Dam. 


52  THE    YUMA    PROJECT 

DRAINAGE  j 

The  usual  drainage  problems  that  accompany  the  normal 
irrigation  projects  are  accentuated  in  the  Yuma  Valley  by  the 
fact  that  the  river  banks  and  the  valley  are  connected  by  a  sub- 
stratum of  pervious  material  so  that  at  times  of  high  water  in  the 
liver  the  water  table  is  raised  by  percolation  from  the  river.  An 
elaborate  system  of  drains  becomes  imperative  therefore,  and 
these  have  been,  or  are  being,  constructed  by  means  of  drag-lino 
scrapers,  and  the  drainage  water  carried  down  the  valley  and 
discharged  into  the  river.  It  becomes  necessary  at  times  of 
high  water  to  pump  the  water  over  the  levees.  At  this  writing 
19  miles  of  open  drains  have  been  constructed  at  a  cost  of  about 
$163,000,  and  8  miles  of  closed  drains  costing  $70,000. 

The  original  plans  and  early  construction  on  the  Yuma 
Project  were  conducted  by  Homer  Hamlin  under  the  direction  of 
J.  B.  Lippincott  as  Supervising  Engineer.  In  1905  Mr.  Lippiii- 
cott  was  succeeded  by  Louis  C.  Hill  and  Mr.  Hamlin  by  F.  L. 
Sellew,  who  built  the  main  canals,  and  the  pressure  tunnel 
under  the  Colorado  River.  E.  D.  Vincent  was  the  Construction 
Engineer  on  the  Laguna  Dam. 


CHAPTER   IV 
ORLAND  PROJECT 

RELATION   TO   SACRAMENTO    PROJECT 

The  Sacramento  River  rises  in  Northern  California  and  flows 
southward  nearly  250  miles  to  Suisun  Bay,  into  which  it  empties. 
It  drains  the  western  slope  of  the  Sierras  through  its  tributaries, 
the  American,  Feather,  Yuba,  and  Bear  Rivers,  and  numerous 
smaller  streams.  It  also  drains  the  eastern  slope  of  the  Coast 
Range  through  numerous  creeks,  of  which  the  principal  are  Stoney, 
Cache,  and  Puta  Creeks,  its  total  drainage  basin  covering  about 
28,000  square  miles. 

The  lower  part  of  the  basin  is  very  flat,  and  over  1,000,000 
acres  of  its  area  are  subject  to  frequent  overflow,  to  prevent  which 
is  one  of  the  interesting  hydraulic  problems  of  the  day.  The 
entire  valley  is  arid  and  requires  irrigation  for  successful  agricul- 
ture, although  winter  wheat  has  been  extensively  grown  in  parts 
of  the  valley  for  many  years. 

The  most  important  elements  in  the  solution  of  the  flood 
problems  are  levees  and  by-passes;  but  the  storage  required  for 
extensive  irrigation  and  its  extension  to  the  practicable  limits 
for  flood  regulation  is  a  possible  contribution  to  the  problem  that 
is  worthy  of  consideration,  and  the  proper  handling  of  the  river 
system  thus  involves  the  consideration  of  irrigation  as  well  as 
flood  control. 

The  irrigation  problems  involve  storage  on  the  Sacramento 
itself  and  also  on  many  of  its  tributaries.  Some  reconnaissance 
has  been  done  over  most  of  the  watershed,  resulting  in  the  adop- 
tion for  first  construction  of  a  small  project  on  Stoney  Creek  for 
the  irrigation  of  lands  at  and  around  Orland. 

This  project  provides  for  the  storage  of  water  on  Little  Stoney 
Creek.  The  stored  water  is  released  from  this  reservoir  when 
needed  and  flows  down  Stoney  Creek  to  Miller  Buttes,  where 
it  is  diverted  on  the  south  side  of  the  creek,  and  four  miles  below 
a  canal  is  diverted  on  the  north  side.  The  area  irrigated  is  20,000 

53 


54 


ORLAND    PROJECT 


acres,  of  which  13,000  are  on  the  south  side  of  Stoney  Creek  and 
7,000  acres  are  on  the  north  side. 


EAST   PARK   RESERVOIR 


This  reservoir  is  located  on  Little  Stoney  Creek  below  the 
junction  with  Indian  Creek  and  about  three  miles  above  the 
mouth  of  Little  Stoney  Creek.  The  drainage  area  directly  tribu- 
tary to  it  is  102  square  miles,  and  in  addition  to  this  it  is  fed  by  a 


FIG.  14.— East  Park  Dam,  Orland  Project. 

supply  canal  from  the  main  Stoney  Creek,  6^  miles  in  length, 
with  a  capacity  of  200  cubic  feet  per  second.  The  reservoir 
has  a  superficial  area  of  about  1,900  acres,  and  a  capacity  of 
51,000  acre-feet. 

East  Park  Dam. — The  dam  forming  the  East  Park  Reservoir- 
is  located  in  a  gorge  of  conglomerate  and  is  built  of  concrete  on  a 
radius  of  275  feet.  It  is  140  feet  high  above  foundation  and  has  a 
top  length  of  249  feet.  It  has  a  thickness  at  top  of  10  feet  and  at 
base  of  86  feet.  Twenty  feet  above  the  bed  of  the  river  is  a 
circular  conduit  which  constitutes  the  main  outlet.  This  is  con- 
trolled by  two  sluice-gates  each  4X5  feet,  set  in  tandem,  7  feet 
apart  on  opposite  sides  of  a  gate  tower. 


EAST   PARK   DAM  55 

From  the  foundation  of  the  dam  to  the  top  of  the  outlet 
conduit,  25  feet  above  the  river-bed,  the  dam  is  built  as  a  monolith. 
Above  this  point,  radial  contraction  joints  are  provided  at  forty- 
foot  intervals,  and  in  the  upper  50  feet  at  twenty-foot  intervals. 
Each  joint  has  a  dowel,  and  back  of  each  dowel  is  a  drain  leading 
to  the  down-stream  toe  of  the  dam,  and  also  extending  to  the 
top  so  that  it  can  be  flushed  out. 

The  spillway  is  located  in  a  saddle  about  34  mile  from  the 
dam.  It  is  a  concrete  structure  founded  on  hard  shale.  It  is 
a  weir  consisting  of  nine  semicircular  arches  resting  against 
piers  8  feet  wide.  The  arches  have  a  radius  of  13^  feet,  and 
the  whole  structure  is  curved  to  a  radius  of  474  feet,  its  total 
length  being  460  feet.  It  is  designed  for  a  capacity  of  10,000 
cubic  feet  per  second  with  a  depth  of  overflow  of  3.7  feet.  A 
water  cushion  is  formed  by  a  series  of  small  weirs  2  feet  high 
on  radii  of  29  feet,  built  down-stream  from  the  main  weir. 

It  was  originally  intended  to  incorporate  in  the  concrete  blocks 
of  sandstone  obtained  from  a  quarry  near  by.  Tests  were  made, 
however,  on  the  available  stone,  and  it  was  found  that  on  being 
soaked  in  water  and  then  dried  it  showed  marked  signs  of  dis- 
integration. This  tendency  was  also  exhibited  after  incorpor- 
ation of  this  stone  in  test  blocks  of  concrete,  and  its  use  was 
abandoned. 

Sand  was  obtained  near  the  dam  site,  but  was  lacking  in  fine 
particles,  which  were  added  from  a  bar  of  fine  sand  occurring  about 
half  a  mile  away.  The  average  mix  was  about  1:3:7,  the  limit- 
ing size  of  gravel  being  3  inches. 

The  dam  was  built  by  contract,  there  being  sixteen  bids 
ranging  from  $65,000  to  $315,000. 

At  four  points  around  the  reservoir  earthen  dikes  were  required 
to  close  low  saddles.  These  varied  in  height  from  3  to  20  feet, 
with  top  widths  of  20  feet,  and  slopes  of  three  to  one  on  the  water 
side  and  two  to  one  on  the  dry  slope.  Both  slopes  were  pro- 
tected by  rock  pitching  one  foot  deep. 

The  construction  plant  was  installed  a  short  distance  below 
the  toe  of  the  dam,  on  the  left  bank  of  the  stream.  A  20-cubic- 
foot  measuring  hopper  having  three  compartments  was  used  to 
proportion  the  aggregates,  which  were  discharged  into  a  20-cubic- 
yard  rotary  mixer  operated  by  a  vertical  steam  engine.  The 
mixer  discharged  the  concrete  into  dump  cars  with  sloping  bottoms 


56 


ORLAXD    PROJECT 


which  were  discharged  by  means  of  sliding  doors.  The  cars  were 
supported  on  a  trestle  built  on  the  south  abutment  of  the  dam. 
The  concrete  in  the  base  of  the  dam  was  conducted  to  place  from 
the  cars  by  sectional  iron  tubes,  from  which  sections  were  removed 


FIG.  15.— East  Park  Reservoir  Spillway,  Orland  Project. 

as  the  concrete  rose.  Above  the  river  bed  the  concrete  was 
hoisted  to  ore  cars  running  on  tracks  built  into  the  concrete. 
A  2-foot  opening  was  left  in  the  concrete  at  the  river-bed,  to 
dispose  of  the  water,  and  this  was  accomplished  until  the  main 
outlet  was  built,  25  feet  higher.  Above  this  point,  a  section  of 
40  feet  between  contraction  joints  was  left  open  to  care  for  floods 
during  the  winter.  After  May  15,  1910,  until  the  completion  of 
the  dam  in  June,  concreting  was  carried  on  only  between  the 
hours  of  7  P.M.  and  7  A.M.  on  account  of  the  high  temperatures  of 
the  daytime,  the  concrete  being  covered  with  wet  burlap  during 
the  day. 

The  creek  was  diverted  by  means  of  a  cofferdam  and  conducted 
below  the  dam  site  through  a  wooden  flume.  Excavation  in  the 
river  bed  began  in  June,  1909.  A  drag  scraper  drawn  by  a  cable 
on  a  hoisting  drum  actuated  by  steam  was  employed  in  excavation, 
and  two  centrifugal  pumps,  a  5-inch  and  a  6-inch,  were  used  to 
keep  the  water  down. 


FEED    CANAL  57 

All  loose  material  and  detached  or  decomposed  rock  were 
removed  and  vertical  channels  0  inches  deep  and  4  feet  wide  were 
cut  in  the  abutments  to  make  bond  with  the  concrete.  No 
explosives  were  allowed  on  the  abutments  and  all  solid  rock  ex- 
cavation was  done  by  gads,  drills,  and  hammers.  Large  boulders 
encountered  were  broken  by  explosives. 

COST  OF  EAST  PAKK  RESERVOIR 

Examination $     4,061 

Clearing  site 16,260 

Land  purchases 72,209 

Excavation,  all  classes,  20,248  cu.  yds 29,003 

Concrete,  15,203  cu.  yds 137,670 

Reinforcement,  16,075  Ibs.  at  $0.059 1,002 

Gates,  including  installation,  23,290  Ibs.  at  $0.137 3^361 

Extra  work 8,415 

Earthwork  in  dikes,  3,961  cu.  yds.  at  $0.37 2,678 

Riprap  on  dikes,  747  cu.  yds.  at  $1.92 1,503 


Total  for  Reservoir $276,162 

FEED    CANAL 

The  Orland  Project,  like  most  of  the  Reclamation  Projects, 
was  planned  with  very  short  available  records  of  water  supply. 
At  the  East  Park  Dam  Site,  the  run-off  was  measured  for  1907, 
92,000  acre-feet;  1908,  39,000  acre-feet;  and  1909,  171,000  acre- 
feet.  With  the  flood  waters  of  the  Big  Stoney  Creek  available 
for  diversion  in  the  spring  and  the  storage  capacity  of  46,000 
acre-feet,  it  appeared  that  the  water  supply  was  ample  for  the 
14,300  acres  included  in  the  project. 

The  season  of  1911-12,  however,  furnished  to  the  reservoir 
only  11,400  acre-feet,  and  of  1912-13  only  18,400  acre-feet.  Had 
the  entire  project  been  using  water,  serious  shortage  would  have 
occurred,  and  it  was  evident  that  some  means  of  increasing  the 
stored  supply  must  be  found.  The  means  adopted  was  to  build 
a  feed  canal  from  Big  Stoney  Creek  to  the  reservoir,  a  distance 
of  6J^  miles,  and  to  increase  the  storage  capacity  5,000  acre-feet 
by  building  up  the  spillway  18  inches.  These  improvements 
were  carried  out  in  1914. 

The  diversion  dam  for  the  feed  canal  is  a  concrete  arch  built 
to  a  radius  of  100  feet,  with  a  crest  length  of  155  feet  and  a  maxi- 


58 


ORLAND    PROJECT 


mum  height  of  44  feet.  Its  greatest  thickness  is  6^/2  feet,  and 
this  diminishes  to  3^  feet  near  the  top,  the  batter  on  the  water 
side  being  1:10,  and  on  the  lower  face  being  vertical. 

The  crest  of  the  dam  is  curved  down-stream  in  vertical  section, 


FIG.  16. — Diversion  Dam,  East  Park  Feed  Canal,  Orland  Project.' 

in  order  that  the  overflow  may  fall  free  from  the  dam  and  cause 
no  vacuum. 

The  head-gates  of  the  canal  are  submerged  when  the  dam 
overflows,  so  that  fluctuation  of  head  causes  less  variation  of 
discharge  than  if  they  were  not.  The  canal  is  provided  with  an 
overflow  weir  to  dispose  of  surplus  waters;  to  secure  still  closer 
regulation,  a  siphon  is  provided  which  begins  to  discharge  when 
the  water  stands  at  .2  foot  above  the  crest  of  the  weir,  and  con- 
tinues until  it  falls  below  the  crest.  By  these  provisions  the 
regulation  of  water  into  the  feed  canal  is  automatic,  and  no 
attendance  is  normally  required  at  the  head-gates. 

COST  OF  FEED  CANAL,  DAM,  AND'  STRUCTURES 

COST  TO  UNITED  STATES 

Item  Unit  Quantity        Unit 

Diversion  Dam  and  Controlling  Works: 

Excavation  Class  A Cu.  Yd.         1,227     $  0 . 56 

Excavation  Class  B "  1,656         2 . 24 

Concrete "  1,776.7   12.89 

Reinforcement Lb.          12,573       .0473 

Handling  water 


Total 

$  688.18 

3,715.61 

22,289.34 

610.10 

2,359.50 


Total  Dam  and  Head-works $29,662.73 


DIVERSION   DAM    ON    STONEY    CREEK 


59 


COST  OF  FEED  CANAL,  DAM  AND  STRUCTURES — Continued 


Itom  Unit 

East  Park  Feed  Canal: 

Land Acre 

Excavation  Class  1 Cu.  Yd. 

Excavation  Class  2 

Excavation  Class  3 

Overhaul 

Extra  work .  . 


COST  TO  UNITED  STATES 
Quantity          Unit 


Total 


91  $116.17    $10,571.40 

77,904       .2236       17,422.94 

131,073       .3354      43,963.43 

11,719       .7824 

2,401       .0224 


9,168.63 
53.66 
138.93 


Total  East  Park  Feed  Canal,  exclusive  of  land $70,747.59 

Canal  Structures,  Lining  and  Altera- 
tions to  East  Park  Spillway: 

Excavation  Class  1 

Excavation  Class  2 

Excavation  Class  3 

Puddling 

Concrete 

Dry  paving 

Placing  reinforcing  steel 

Erecting  gates,  etc 

Erecting  lumber  in  structure .  .  . 

Wyands  Cr.  Culvert 

Extra  work  Contract  No.  546.. . 

Total  Structures $53,422.52 


Cu.  Yd. 

2,913 

$0.45 

$1,307.01 

5,769 

1.62 

9,320.53 

6 

3.26 

19.53 

409 

.11 

46.18 

2,777 

12.11 

33,629.45 

36.9 

2.59 

95.43 

Lb. 

48,536 

..044 

2,162.75 

" 

8,243 

.076 

631.08 

M.  Ft. 

21.472 

60.57 

1,300.56 

1,017.81 

3,892.19 

MILLER   BUTTES   DIVERSION 

The  South  Canal  of  the  Orland  Project  heads  near  Miller 
Buttes,  about  10  miles  northwest  of  Orland,  where  Stoney  Creek 
is  held  on  both  sides  by  high  land.  Its  high- water  bed  is  about 
900  feet  wide,  and  consists  of  coarse  gravel  and  boulders.  The 
diversion  dam  is  of  the  simplest  character,  consisting  merely  of 
a  double  row  of  round  piles  driven  in  the  coarse  gravel  of  the 
river-bed,  flush  with  the  surface  except  in  low  places,  and  a  timber 
bulkhead  fastened  to  these  piles,  extending  about  6  feet  below 
the  top.  An  apron  of  large  rock  was  placed  on  the  down-stream 
side  of  this  bulkhead. 

The  South  Canal  was  designed  for  a  normal  capacity  of  135 
cubic  feet  per  second,  having  a  bottom  width  of  12  feet,  and  3  feet 
of  water  depth,  with  a  grade  of  .0008.  No  checks  were  required  on 
this  canal.  The  drops  were  each  provided  with  a  notched  weir  to 
maintain  proper  depth  in  the  canal. 

The  North  Side  Canal  heads  about  3  miles  below  the  South 
Canal  heading.  A  small  canal  built  on  this  alignment  by  private 
enterprise  was  purchased  by  the  United  States  and  enlarged  to 


60 


ORLAND    PROJECT 


a  capacity  of  80  second  feet,  for  the  service  of  about  7,000 
acres  of  land,  most  of  which  is  a  clay  loam,  as  distinguished  from 
the  more  open  soils  of  the  south  side.  Its  structures  are  simple, 
and  present  no  points  of  special  interest. 

DISTRIBUTION    SYSTEM 

The  canals  and  laterals  of  the  Orland  Project  aggregate  nearly 
200  miles  in  length,  and  are  designed  for  the  delivery  of  water  to 

the  highest  point  of  irri- 
gable land  on  each  40- 
acre  tract. 

There  are  about  1,400 
structures  of  various 
kinds  on  this  system, 
most  of  which  are  of 
standard  design,  and 
built  of  concrete.  Ex- 
cellent gravel  was  ob- 
tainable from  Stoney 
Creek  and  from  various 
gravel  pits  on  or  near  the 
project. 

In  many  places,  the 
soil  is  gravelly  and  open, 
and  as  water  is  very  val- 
uable, a  large  part  of 
the  lateral  system  has 
been,  and  more  will  be, 
lined  with  concrete. 

The  standard  lining 
for  laterals  is  1^  inches 
in  thickness.  This  was 
mixed  in  a  small  portable 
mixer  drivenbya3-horse- 
power  gasoline  motor, 
and  delivered  charges  of 

3  cubic  feet,  using  one-half  sack  of  cement  to  each  charge.  The 
concrete  was  discharged  into  wheelbarrows,  wheeled  to  the  point 
of  use,  dumped  into  a  convenient  box,  and  shoveled  on  to  the 
slopes,  where  it  was  tamped  and  finished  with  trowels.  It  cost 


FIG.  17. — Fishway  at  Diversion  Dam  of  Feed 
Canal,  Orland  Project. 


WATER   DELIVERY  61 

about  30  to  40  cents  per  square  yard.  On  the  main  canal,  the 
cost  was  67  cents  per  square  yard. 

Delivery  of  Water. — The  rotation  method  of  water  delivery 
was  installed  with  the  first  delivery  of  water  on  this  project  and 
has  been  strictly  adhered  to. 

For  the  most  part  single  irrigating  heads  are  run  in  the  laterals 
during  the  rotation  periods.  The  farmers  themselves,  commenc- 
ing at  the  lower  end  of  the  lateral,  make  the  changes  until  the 
head  of  the  lateral  is  reached,  at  which  point  all  changes  are  made 
by  the  canal  riders.  The  farmer  receives  notice  of  time  and  length 
of  run  sufficiently  in  advance  to  be  prepared  for  the  water  or  to 
arrange  for  an  exchange  of  time  with  his  neighbor,  should  he  so 
desire;  such  exchanges  being  permitted  when  they  interfere  with 
no  one's  time  other  than  those  who  are  parties  to  them.  If  the 
water  user  does  not  want  the  water  to  which  he  is  entitled  during 
any  run,  he  notifies  the  canal  rider  to  that  effect  before  the  water 
is  turned  into  the  lateral. 

For  orchard  and  furrow  irrigation  generally,  water  is  furnished 
on  demand,  forty-eight  hours'  notice  being  required  by  the  project 
office. 

The  "economical"  irrigating  heads  as  determined  for  this 
project  are  from  1  to  2  second-feet  for. orchard  and  cultivated 
crops  and  from  3  to  12  second-feet  for  flood  irrigation;  in  the 
latter  case  the  size  of  the  head  depending  largely  on  the  texture 
of  the  soil. 

For  flood  crops  delivery  is  made  by  schedule,  the  time  elapsing 
between  irrigating  periods  and  the  length  of  run  depending  on 
the  season,  texture  of  soil,  crop,  and  the  depth  of  water  required 
at  each  irrigation. 

The  following  tabulation  gives  the  principal  service  periods 
and  the  depth  of  water  allowed  under  each  for  irrigating  flooded 
crops  during  the  months  of  June,  July,  and  August: 


Texture  of  Soil 

Rotation 
Period, 
1         Days 

Depth 
in 
Inches 

Head 
Second- 
Feet 

Compact  clay 

y 

1    8 

3  to    4 

CIravellv  clay 

10 

2   0 

5  to    6 

Orland  coarse  gravol  

14 

3.6 

8  to  10 

Loam  and  sandv  loam  

21 

5.0 

8  to  12 

T         .     ,         .    ,  Depth  in  inches  X  number  of  acres 

Length  of  run  in  hours  =  —      — T^  -^-. —    — ,  , 

Head  m  second-feet 


62  ORLAND    PROJECT 

The  East  Park  Dam  was  constructed  by  W.  W.  Schlecht, 
under  the  direction  of  D.  C.  Henny,  Supervising  Engineer.  The 
other  main  features  of  the  project  were  constructed  by  A.  N. 
Burch,  the  present  Project  Manager. 


CHAPTER  V 
GRAND   VALLEY  PROJECT 

ORIGIN   AND    HISTORY 

Grand  River  has  its  source  in  the  north  central  part  of  Colorado, 
near  the  Continental  Divide,  and  flows  in  a  general  southwesterly 
course  through  canyons  and  gorges  until  about  40  miles  before 
reaching  the  Utah  line  it  emerges  from  the  mountains  and  enters 
the  famous  Grand  Valley,  containing  over  113,000  acres  of  ir- 
rigable land.  In  this  valley  it  receives  the  waters  of  its  main 
tributary,  the  Gunnison.  Its  drainage  area  above  the  Gunnison 
is  about  8,600  square  miles,  of  which  over  8,000  is  high  mountain 
area  tributary  to  the  canal  systems  of  the  valley.  The  flow  is 
greater  than  that  of  any  other  river  of  Colorado. 

Irrigation  in  Grand  Valley,  Colorado,  was  early  undertaken 
by  private  enterprise,  and  gradually  expanded  until  all  the  bottom 
land  easily  reached  by  gravity  from  the  river  was  entirely  covered 
by  irrigation  canals.  Water  power  was  then  developed  and 
water  pumped  to  the  most  accessible  lands  at  the  head  of  the 
valley  which  had  shown  then-  high  value  as  fruit  lands.  The 
Reclamation  Service  began  preliminary  investigations  in  1902 
of  a  high-line  canal  for  reaching  the  mesa  lands  in  Utah  just 
west  of  the  State  line.  This  reconnaissance  showed  the  plan  to 
carry  the  water  to  the  high  lands  in  Utah  to  be  impracticable, 
but  led  to  a  recommendation  to  survey  a  less  ambitious  scheme 
for  watering  the  high  lands  of  the  valley  proper  in  Colorado. 
Local  interests,  however,  favored  construction  under  the  district 
system  and  the  Government  project  was  abandoned.  Later 
local  efforts  succeeded  in  developing  a  small  district  for  pumping 
to  the  choice  fruit  lands  in  the  head  of  the  valley,  and  these  were 
completely  covered  by  this  means.  It  was  found  impossible, 
however,  to  interest  private  capital  in  the  scheme  to  water  the 
relatively  inaccessible  lands  in  the  western  end  of  the  valley,  and 
in  1909  the  Government  was  induced  to  undertake  this  task. 

as 


GRAND  VALLEY  PROJECT  65 

The  Grand  Valley  Project  of  the  Government  involves  the 
diversion  of  the  waters  of  Grand  River  by  a  dam  located  about 
8  miles  above  Palisade,  Colorado,  into  a  canal  on  the  north  side 
of  the  river,  for  the  irrigation  of  lands  north  and  west  of  Grand 
Junction,  Fruita,  and  Mack.  The  main  conduit,  for  about  6^ 
miles  through  the  canyon,  consists  of  a  series  of  tunnels  and 
concrete-lined  canals,  crossing  drainage  by  siphons  or  flumes, 
until  a  tunnel  7,000  feet  in  length  emerges  upon  the  valley  north- 
east of  Palisade.  Here  for  a  distance  of  10  miles  the  location  lies 
through  the  highly  developed  orchards  of  the  pumping  district 
where  the  land  damages  were  very  high.  Thereafter  the  route 
winds  through  the  adobe  hills  north  of  Grand  Junction,  reaching 
its  first  considerable  area  of  new  irrigable  land  after  about  18 
miles  of  heavjr  construction.  From  this  point  the  canal  extends 
for  about  25  miles  in  a  general  northwesterly  direction,  irrigating 
a  strip  of  land  averaging  about  2  miles  wide,  and  then  follows 
the  contour  around  the  head  of  the  valleys  of  East  and  West 
Salt  Creeks,  making  a  total  area  of  irrigable  land  reached  by 
gravity  of  over  42,000  acres.  In  addition  to  this  it  is  feasible  to 
pump  from  the  main  canal  to  an  additional  area  of  about  11,000 
acres,  lying  in  four  tracts  above  the  canal  and  reachable  with 
lifts  varying  from  50  feet  to  175  feet. 

The  necessary  power  for  pumping  water  to  the  higher  lands 
is  to  be  developed  by  carrying  the  necessary  water  from  the  head- 
works  to  a  point  above  the  heading  of  the  next  lower  canal  and 
there  dropping  through  turbines  the  water  to  which  the  lower 
canal  is  entitled,  and  transmitting  the  power  in  the  form  of 
electrical  energy  to  the  pumping  sites. 

The  project  is  planned  to  divert  1,425  second-feet  of  water 
at  the  head-works  and,  after  allowing  for  necessary  power  develop- 
ment and  for  probable  losses  in  transit,  to  deliver  530  second- 
feet  to  the  land  for  the  irrigation  of  53,000  acres  of  land,  or  1 
second-foot  to  100  acres.  In  case  it  be  found  impossible  to  attain 
so  high  a  duty  of  water,  it  will  be  possible  to  eliminate  some  of 
the  higher  pumping  lifts,  and  thus  the  water  required  for  power 
and  irrigation  on  the  eliminated  area  will  become  available  for 
the  other  lands. 


66  GRAND    VALLEY    PROJECT 


GRAND    RIVER   DAM 

In  the  diversion  of  Grand  River  the  problem  presented  was 
to  raise  the  level  of  the  river  at  low  stages  sufficiently  to  send 
1,425  cubic  feet  of  water  per  second  into  the  head  of  the  main 
canal  and  yet  at  high  water  to  pass  a  flow  of  50,000  cubic 
feet  of  water  per  second  without  raising  the  water  level  to  a 
point  where  it  would  endanger  the  road-bed  of  the  Denver  &  Rio 
Grande  Railroad  adjacent.  This  required  a  movable  crest  upon 
a  concrete  weir  as  a  sill. 

The  diversion  dam  developed  is  a  concrete  overflow  base  of 
ogee  section  with  projecting  apron,  surmounted  by  a  series  of 
seven  movable  roller  dams,  six  of  which  are  70  feet  long  and  10.25 
feet  high,  over  the  dam  proper,  while  the  seventh  has  a  span 
of  60  feet  and  a  height  of  15.3  feet,  and  is  used  to  control  the 
sluiceway. 

The  canal  gates,  nine  in  number,  are  parallel  to  the  river, 
and  the  sluiceway  roller  closes  upon  a  sill  5  feet  and  1  inch  below 
the  sills  of  the  other  rollers,  and  8.3  feet  below  the  sills  of  the  canal 
gates,  so  that  gravel  deposited  in  front  of  the  gates  can  be  sluiced 
out  by  raising  the  60-foot  roller,  and  thus  a  deep  settling  basin 
can  be  maintained  in  front  of  the  gates,  to  prevent  the  river 
gravel  from  entering  the  canal.  The  hoisting  apparatus  for  the 
sluicing  roller  is  located  on  the  right  abutment  of  the  dam,  which 
serves  also  for  the  left  abutment  of  the  head-gate  structure. 
The  other  six  rollers  are  operated  by  three  hoists  located  on  alter- 
nate piers,  each  hoist  serving  two  rollers.  These  piers  are  10  feet 
wide  and  the  other  three  are  8.25  feet  wide.  A  steel  truss  bridge 
spans  each  opening.  Each  hoist  is  equipped  with  an  electric 
motor  receiving  current  from  a  gas  engine  in  the  gate  house  on 
the  right  abutment  pier.  A  cut-off  wall  is  located  directly  below 
the  summit  of  the  ogee,  which  is  also  the  sill  of  the  rollers,  and 
is  carried  down  24  feet  below  that  sill  or  about  14  feet  below  the 
natural  bed  of  the  river,  which  consists  of  sand  and  gravel,  much 
of  which  is  quite  coarse. 

The  concrete  protective  apron  in  the  sluiceway  extends  100 
feet  down-stream  from  the  dam,  and  terminates  in  a  cut-off  wall 
of  concrete  3  feet  thick  carried  8  feet  below  the  top  of  the  apron. 
The  concrete  protective  apron  below  the  dam  proper  is  carried 
down-stream  50  feet,  and  has  a  similar  cut-off  wall  at  its  lower  edge. 


68 


GRAND   VALLEY   PROJECT 


To  check  percolation  under  the  dam,  the  up-stream  side  is 
covered  by  a  thin  apron  40  feet  wide,  and  above  this  earth  is 


FIG.  20. — Section  through  Body  of  70-foot  Roller  Dam,  Grand  River,  Colorado. 

sluiced  in.  The  automatic  silting  of  the  dam  will  complete  the 
process. 

The  total  length  of  the  diversion  dam  between  abutments 
is  536.5  feet.  When  the  rollers  are  closed  at  low  river  stage,  it 
raises  water  about  20  feet  above  the  general  bed  of  the  river. 

The  project  canal  heads  at  the  right  bank,  and  on  the  left  is  the 


MAIN    CANAL 


69 


smaller  canal  of  the  Orchard  Mesa  Irrigation  District.     The  plans 
are  such  that  this  canal  can  be  supplied  from  the  Government 


FIG.  21.— Section  through  Driven  End  of  70-foot  Roller. 

dam,  thus  providing  a  new  heading,  but  for  the  present  the  canal 
is  protected  and  allowed  to  flow  in  its  original  channel  from  the 
diversion  dam  above,  undisturbed,  past  the  Government  dam. 

MAIN   CANAL 

The  main  canal  of  the  Government  Project  leaves  the  diversion 
dam  with  a  capacity  of  1,425  second-feet.  Its  bottom  width  is 
38  feet,  it  has  a  water  depth  of  10.5  feet,  and  side  slopes  of  134 


70  GRAND   VALLEY   PROJECT 

to  1.  The  lower  bank  has  a  freeboard  of  5  feet  and  a  top  width 
of  15  feet,  while  the  upper  bank  has  a  freeboard  of  3  feet  and  a 
top  width  of  10.  Further  down  the  side  slopes  are  flattened  to 
2  to  1  and  the  bottom  slightly  narrowed.  The  estimated  veloci- 
ties are  about  2  3/2  feet  per  second,  the  slope  being  .000095. 

At  station  90  the  conduit  enters  Tunnel  No.  1,  which  is  about 
3,700  feet  in  length,  and  has  a  grade  of  .0007.  The  velocity 
generated  in  this  tunnel  is  preserved  at  its  exit  in  a  concrete- 
lined  channel  for  about  550  feet,  where  it  enters  a  concrete  pressure 
conduit  passing  under  Jerry  Creek,  after  which  the  conduit  becomes 
an  earthen  canal.  It  passes  under  Coal  Creek  in  a  concrete 
inverted  siphon,  and  enters  Tunnel  No.  2  about  21,000  feet  from 
the  head-gates.  This  tunnel  is  about  1,700  feet  in  length,  and  has 
a  grade  of  .00071.  After  leaving  Tunnel  No.  2,  the  conduit  is 
open  canal  for  a  distance  of  1,600  feet,  and  then  enters  Tunnel 
No.  3,  which  is  7,000  feet  in  length,  and  from  which  the  conduit 
emerges  among  the  orchards  of  the  Mesa  County  Irrigation 
District. 

The  canal  construction  of  the  canyon  division  above  described 
was  performed  under  contract,  and  consisted  mainly  in  the  moving 
of  talus  slope  material  of  clay,  sand,  and  boulders.  The  tunnels 
were  built  by  Government  forces  and  were  all  lined  with  concrete. 
They  were  excavated  partly  in  miscellaneous  talus  materials,  but 
mainly  in  sandstone  or  shale.  In  sandstone  the  section  is  a 
rectangle  surmounted  by  a  circular  arch.  In  shale,  due  to  the 
danger  of  swelling  ground,  the  sides  and  bottom  were  given  a 
curvature  to  bestow  greater  resistance  to  outside  pressure,  pro- 
ducing a  shape  similar  to  a  horseshoe. 

Through  the  orchard  region  the  main  canal  is  given  a  bottom 
width  of  25  feet  and  a  water  depth  of  8.5  feet.  A  freeboard  of 
7  feet  is  provided  on  the  lower  side,  to  guard  against  trouble  due 
to  the  "settling"  of  the  soil  under  the  wetting  of  the  canal.  This 
is  a  phenomenon  peculiar  to  the  upper  end  of  Grand  Valley  and 
not  fully  explained  as  yet.  A  limited  area  in  the  neighborhood 
of  Palisade  undergoes  a  subsidence  in  altitude  when  thoroughly 
soaked,  as  by  irrigation.  The  amount  of  this  subsidence  varies 
from  1  to  5  or  6  feet,  and  requires  extreme  care  in  bringing  land 
under  irrigation.  If  the  ground  be  not  saturated  uniformly  it 
may  subside  more  in  one  place  than  another,  and  the  line  of 
difference  may  be  a  well-marked  step  of  several  feet,  after  the 


COST  OF  GRAND  VALLEY  PROJECT 


7t 


formation  of  which  it  is  very  difficult  to  restore  the  relative  level 
of  the  ground  necessary  for  irrigation.  Even  with  great  care 
in  wetting,  the  ground  often  settles  so  unevenly  as  to  cause  much 
annoyance.  The  amount  of  settlement  to  be  expected  is  very 
indefinite,  and  it  is  to  avoid  difficulties  from  this  cause  that  so 
large  a  freeboard  is  necessary. 


COSTS  TO  DECEMBER  31,  1915,  OF  GRAND  VALLEY  PROJECT,  COLORADO 


Examination  and  surveys 

Diversion  dam  and  head-works 

Preliminary  and  general .. .  .$     5,595 

Excavation,  55,788  cu.  yds.  at  $2.53 140,013 

Concrete,  17,990  cu.  yds.  at  $11.61 208,966 

Backfilling,  11,405  cu.  yds.  at  $0.59 6,779 

Machinery  and  install.,  823,718  Ibs.  at  $0.097     80,068 

Embankment,  4,763  cu.  yds.  at  $1.135 5,405 

Bridge  (service),  97,311  Ibs.  at  $0.083 8,031 

Riprap  and  paving,  7,660  cu.  yds.  at  $4.51.. .     34,519 

Main  canal 

Engineering  and  preliminary $  29,156 

Right  of  way  purchase  and  fencing 240,134 

Right  of  way  damages 21,407 

Priming  and  puddling 18,990 

Tunnel  No.  1,  3,723  linear  feet 267,164 

Excavation,  41,830  cu.  yds.  at  $3.11 130,080 

Timbering,  3,723  lin.  ft.  at  $7.33 27,294 

Lining,  8,410  cu.  yds.  at  $9.78 82,290 

Approaches  and  portals,  complete 27,500 

Tunnel  No.  2,  1,655  lin.  ft.  at  $70.61 1.17,867 

Excavation,  19,131  cu.  yds.  at  $3.41 65,242 

Lining,  3,962  cu.  yds.,  at  $9.88 39,132 

Approaches  and  portals,  complete 13,493 

Tunnel  No.  3,  7,292  lin.  ft.  at  $45.76 333,653 

Excavation,  46,806  cu.  yds.  at  $4.48 209,674 

Lining,  13,792  cu.  yds.  at  $8.27 114,120 

Approaches  and  portals,  complete 9,859 

Division  1,  Earthwork .' 125,610 

Culverts  and  bridges 31,214 

Wasteway 13,364 

Asbury  Creek  siphon 13,558 

Excavation,  2,041  cu.  yds.  at  $  0.53 
Concrete,  582  "  "  19.60 
Paving,  329  "  "  3.24 


69,624 
489,376 


1,924,037 


72  GRAND  VALLEY  PROJECT 

COSTS  TO  DECEMBER  31,  1915,  OF  GRAND  VALLEY  PROJECT,  COLORADO 

(Continued) 

Jerry  Creek  siphon $  15,824 

Excavation,  2,437  cu.  yds.  at  $  0.80 

Concrete,         700        "        "     16.37 

Paving,             577        "        "      4.19 
Coal  Creek  siphon 18,599 

Excavation,  1,680  cu.  yds.  at  $  0.79 

Concrete,         656        "        "     20.60 

Paving,  961        "        "      3.91 

Division  2,  Earthwork 163,267 

Culverts,  bridges,  etc 49,261 

Lewis  wash  siphon $8,365 

Excavation  and  backfill,  730  cu.  yds.  at 
$1.27 

Concrete,  330  cu.  yds.  at  $22.54 
Wasteway 3,732 

Excavation  and  backfill,   1,096  cu.  yds. 
at  $0.64 

Concrete,  130  cu.  yds.  at  $21.57 

Machinery,  4,300  Ibs.  at  $0.1028 
Steel  flume 9,278 

Excavation  and  backfill,  585  cu.  yds.  at 
$0.968 

Concrete,  230  cu.  yds.  at  $16.40 

13.5'  steel  waterways,  224  lin.  ft.  at  $14.82 

Structure,  $22.85  M.,  BM.  at  $90.56 

Division  3,  Earthwork 183,234 

Culverts,  bridges,  etc 39,349 

Siphon 10,244 

Excavation,  1,655  cu.  yds.  at  $  0.52 

Backfill,         2,200        "        "         .20 

Concrete,         329        "        "     22.20 

Paving,             301        "        "       5.48 
Wasteway 3,503 

Excavation,  2,435  cu.  yds.  at  $  0.22 

Backfill,  150        "        "         .60 

Concrete,          138        "        "     15.88 

Gates,  cast  iron,  4,300  Ibs.   "       .142 

Paving,               17  cu.  yds.   "      3.55 
Wasteway 5,345 

Excavation,  3,950  cu.  yds.  at  $  0.25 

Backfill,  120        "        "         .42 

Concrete,          148        "        "     21.20 

Gates,  cast  iron,  4,300  Ibs.  "       .126 

Paving,  70  cu.  yds.   "       8.99 


COST    DATA 


73 


Flume $  7,507 

Excavation,  1,125  cu.  yds.  at  $  0.76 
Concrete,  210  "  "  10.15 
Lumber,  19.5  M.,  BM.  "  77.80 
13.5'  steel  waterway,  192  lin.  ft.  at  $15.64 

Flume 8,809 

Excavation,  1,700  cu.  yds.  at  $  0.53 
Concrete,         226        "        "     12.24 
Lumber,  $22.85  M.,  BM.     "    76.75 
13.5'  steel  waterway,  224  lin.  ft.  at  $14.73 
Paving,  40  cu.  yds.  at  $  2.11 

Flume 11,883 

Excavation,  5,976  cu.  yds.  at  $  0.217 
Concrete,         228        "        "     22.72 
Lumber,  $19.5  M.,  BM.       "    85.25 
13.5'  steel  waterways,  192  lin.ft.  at  $18.40 
Paving,  80  cu.  yds.  at  $2.67 

Division  4,  Earthwork 146,063 

Bridges  and  culverts 27,209 

Lateral  system $147,742 

Preliminary  and  general 10,524 

Priming  and  puddling 819 

District  1,  Earthwork 41,826 

Minor  structures 66,750 

District  2,  Earthwork 11,500 

Minor  structures 16,323 

Drainage  system,  preliminary 1,825 

Flood  protection,  preliminary 557 

Farm  units,  preliminary 2,708 

Permanent  improvements  and  land 8,735 

Telephone  system,  43  miles  at  $212.80 9,149 

General  administrative  expense 5,272 

Total $2,659,025 

The  Grand  Valley  Project  was  constructed  and  in  the  main 
designed  by  Mr.  J.  H.  Miner,  under  the  general  direction  of  Mr. 
R.  F.  Walter,  Supervising  Engineer. 


CHAPTER  VI 
UNCOMPAHGRE  PROJECT 

DESCRIPTION 

The  Uncompahgre  Valley  lies  on  the  western  slope  of  the 
main  range  of  the  Rocky  Mountains  in  western  Colorado.  Its 
drainage  area  of  500  square  miles  is  tributary  to  the  Gunnison 
River,  which  it  joins  a  short  distance  below  Delta,  Colo. 

The  Uncompahgre  River  was  early  diverted  for  the  irrigation 
of  its  immediate  valley  by  means  of  small  canals  on  both  sides 
of  the  river. 

As  in  many  other  Western  valleys,  the  development  of  irri- 
gated lands  proceeded  under  the  stimulus  of  seasons  of  plentiful 
water  supply  and  the  usual  optimistic  tendencies,  until  it  was  far 
past  the  point  of  safety,  and  most  of  the  canals  were  frequently 
without  water  in  the  late  summer,  though  well  supplied  in  May 
and  June;  and  in  years  of  low  water  supply,  all  except  the  very 
oldest  were  short.  This  condition  led  to  heavy  losses  and  much 
litigation. 

To  relieve  this  situation  and  irrigate  the  remaining  unwatered 
lands  of  the  Valley,  the  United  States  has  undertaken  to  bring 
into  the  valley  the  water  of  Gunnison  River,  which  flows  in  a 
deep  canyon  to  the  eastward,  roughly  parallel  to  the  Uncompahgre. 
This  requires  a  tunnel  about  30,580  feet  in  length,  and  a  canal  at 
its  west  portal  to  carry  the  water  to  the  head  of  the  valley  and 
make  it  available  to  all  the  canals.  Later,  as  plans  and  construc- 
tion progressed,  it  was  found  necessary  to  acquire  or  build  an 
entire  canal  and  lateral  system. 

GUNNISON   TUNNEL 

The  tunnel  is  nearly  square  in  cross-section  with  an  arched 
roof.  It  is  11  feet  wide  in  the  clear,  and  has  a  height  of  10  feet 
to  the  spring  of  the  arch.  It  is  built  on  a  grade  of  .002  and  has 

74 


76  UNCOMPAHGRE.PEOJECT 

a  theoretical  velocity  of  about  10  feet  per  second  when  running 
full  capacity,  which  is  about  1,000  cubic  feet  per  second. 

The  west  portal  of  the  tunnel  is  in  the  valley  of  Cedar  Creek, 
which  has  a  slope  of  about  2^  per  cent,  and  the  cut  approaching 
the  tunnel  is  1,900  feet  long.  The  western  1,300  feet  of  the 
tunnel  in  the  alluvial  bottom  of  Cedar  Creek  yielded  large 
quantities  of  water,  required  heavy  timbering,  and  was  very 
hazardous  work. 

The  construction  of  this  tunnel  was  let  by  contract  and  work 
was  started  in  February,  1905.  The  contractor  was  insufficiently 
supplied  with  capital  and  unable  to  install  adequate  equipment, 
and  within  four  months  he  went  into  bankruptcy  and  the  work 
was  prosecuted  thereafter  by  Government  forces. 

The  work  on  the  tunnel  was  carried  on  from  four  headings: 
Heading  No.  1  began  at  the  river  portal  and  progressed  westward 
from  Gunnison  River.  Heading  No.  2  was  driven  eastward 
toward  the  Gunnison  River  from  a  shaft  located  950  feet  from 
the  west  portal.  Heading  No.  3  was  driven  from  the  same  shaft 
toward  the  west  portal,  and  Heading  No.  4  was  driven  eastward 
from  the  western  portal.  A  heavy  cut  about  50  feet  deep  con- 
tinued the  conduit  from  the  west  portal  of  the  tunnel  to  grade 
in  the  valley  of  Cedar  Creek,  a  distance  of  about  1,900  feet. 

The  work  from  Heading  No.  1  was  in  hard  crystalline  rock, 
some  of  it  so  hard  as  to  present  great  difficulty  to  drilling,  and 
most  of  it  standing  without  timbering.  Occasional  seamy  and 
broken  sections,  aggregating  about  20  per  cent,  required  timbering, 
and  water  was  encountered  frequently  in  these  seams,  growing 
worse  and  more  profuse  as  the  work  advanced.  The  grade  of 
the  tunnel  being  from  the  portal  toward  the  heading  made  it 
necessary  to  pump  from  the  heading  to  the  river  all  the  water 
that  leaked  into  the  tunnel.  At  times  the  flow  increased  to  such 
an  extent  as  to  stop  the  work.  Frequently  the  pressure  of  water 
encountered  in  the  drill  holes  was  sufficient  to  eject  the  charge 
before  it  could  be  exploded.  It  was  necessary  to  increase  the 
pumping  capacity  and  to  provide  discharge  pipe  line  12  inches 
in  diameter.  On  this  heading  a  record  of  449  linear  feet  was 
established  in  January,  1908. 

Heading  No.  2  was  mostly  in  hard  blue  shale.  Much  of  this 
was  of  such  character  as  to  stand  temporarily  without  timbering 
and  required  only  light  timbering  to  prevent  sloughing  of  the 


Grade 
Subgrade 


SECTION  A-B 


.    J        ISubgrade 


LONGITUDINAL  SECTION 


CROSS  SECTION 

UNCOMPAHGRE  VALLEY  PROJECT  COLORADO 


161234 
FIG.  23. — Gunnison  Tunnel.      Sections  in  Rock. 


78  UNCOMPAHGRE    PROJECT 

sides  and  roof.  The  material,  however,  became  softer  and  full 
of  shells  to  such  an  extent  as  to  destroy  its  cohesiveness  and 
heavy  timbering  was  required  close  to  the  heading.  Large 
quantities  of  water  were  also  encountered  and  the  humidity  caused 
continual  slacking  of  the  lime,  which,  with  other  causes,  resulted 
in  the  production  of  a  large  amount  of  heat.  The  combination 
of  heat  and  humidity  made  the  work  extremely  difficult.  In 
December,  1906,  this  heading  was  driven  to  a  geologic  fault  and 
a  flow  of  water  of  more  than  1,000,000  gallons  per  hour  was  tapped. 
Accompanying  this  water  was  an  enormous  volume  of  carbon 
dioxide,  which  drove  all  the  men  from  the  tunnel  and  compelled 
the  abandonment  of  the  work  temporarily.  After  about  three 
weeks,  the  heading  was  regained,  but  the  flow  of  gas  was  so  strong 
and  the  temperature  was  so  high  that  work  was  impossible.  To 
overcome  this  difficulty,  it  was  decided  to  sink  a  shaft  about 
9,000  feet  from  the  west  portal  of  the  tunnel  700  feet  in  depth  as 
an  aid  to  ventilation.  The  excessive  humidity,  the  high  tem- 
perature, and  the  swelling  ground  so  rotted  and  weakened  the 
timbers  that  it  was  necessary  to  start  concrete  lining  at  once  to 
avoid  extensive  replacement  of  timbers. 

The  presence  of  water  necessitated  the  elevation  of  the  tram 
track,  and  deprived  the  workmen  of  the  use  of  the  tunnel  floor. 
Tools,  dinner  pails,  explosives,  repair  parts,  and  every  other 
appliance  used  in  the  tunnel  had  to  be  kept  on  shelves  or  platforms 
or  suspended  in  some  manner  above  the  water. 

A  steady  flow  of  7^  cubic  feet  per  second  was  encountered 
continuously,  which  was  increased  whenever  a  new  spring  was 
encountered. 

Notwithstanding  the  great  difficulties  and  delays  connected 
with  this  work,  parts  of  the  work  where  the  difficulties  were  least 
were  finished  with  great  rapidity.  In  March,  1906,  a  single  gang 
made  progress  on  excavation  of  809  feet,  or  an  average  of  25.6 
feet  per  day. 

Progress  on  Heading  No.  3  was  very  satisfactory  as  long  as 
it  remained  in  the  blue  shale,  although  occasional  flows  of  water 
and  gas  were  encountered,  but  when  the  shale  was  left  behind 
the  ground  became  exceedingly  difficult,  consisting  of  adobe  mud, 
gravel  pits,  sand  beds,  or  some  mixture  of  these  materials.  The 
same  description  applies  to  the  material  encountered  from  Heading 
No.  4,  which  was  extremely  difficult,  requiring  heavy  timbering 


CROSS  SECTION 


12x12  12x12 

LONGITUDINAL  SECTION 


UNCOMPAHGRE  VALLEY  PROJECT  COLORADO 


FIG.  24. — Sections  of  Tunnel.      Sections  in  Shale  and  Gravel. 


80 


TJNCOMPAHGRE    PROJECT 


close  to  the  heading  and  causing  great  hazard  to  men  and  equip- 
ment. 

The  tunnel  was  finally  excavated  through  in  January,  1910, 
the  progress  being  shown  in  the  following  table: 


1905 

1906 

1907 

1908 

1909 

1910 

Total 

Full  Section: 
Earth  and  gravel 

1,956 

1,066 

ft. 

3022 

Shale 

3,154 

5,146 

8300 

660 

660 

304 

1  264 

1  568 

477 

3  181 

1  527 

200 

5385 

Total  

5,587 

10,357 

2,791 

200 

18,935 

Undercut  drift,  11x8  feet: 
Granite  and  schist  
Sandstone  

1,691 

2,257 
207 

4,077 

3,478 

11,503 
207 

Total  

Enlargement  : 
Granite  and  schist  

1,691 
1,691 

2,464 

4,077 

3,478 
8,105 

1,707 

11,710 
11,503 

Sandstone  

207 

207 

Total 

1  691 

8312 

1  707 

11  710 

The  rapid  decay  of  the  timber  in  the  tunnel  due  to  heat  and 
humidity  and  the  tendency  of  the  shale  to  swell  and  bulge  the 
timbers  made  it  necessary  to  begin  the  concreting  in  October, 
1906,  and  continue  steadily  thereafter. 

The  concreting  plant  at  the  west  end  consisted  of  a  rotary 
mixer,  placed  on  a  platform  near  the  bottom  of  the  working  shaft, 
just  high  enough  to  allow  cars  to  pass  under  it. 

The  sand  and  gravel  were  obtained  from  a  hill  about  a 
mile  away,  and,  after  screening,  were  dumped  into  chutes  leading 
down  the  shaft  into  measuring  bins  which  discharged  directly 
into  the  mixer,  from  which  the  cars  were  filled  and  hauled  to 
the  concreting  place.  The  mixture  used  was  1:3:6. 

The  floor  of  the  tunnel  was  first  laid  direct  from  the  cars. 
Timber  forms  were  then  placed  for  the  side  walls,  fastened  to 
the  tunnel  timbers  by  means  of  wires. 

In  placing  concrete  in  the  sides  and  roof  a  traveller  was  used, 
which  consisted  of  a  platform  mounted  on  a  frame  which  raised 
it  to  such  a  height  as  to  permit  cars  to  pass  under  it,  the  frame 


GUNNISON   TUNNEL 


81 


being  on  wheels  running  outside  the  tramway.  On  this  traveller 
was  a  hoist  in  line  with  the  tram  track,  which  pulled  the  cars 
up  the  traveller  where  the  concrete  was  dumped  on  the  platform, 
remixed  in  boxes,  and  shovelled  into  place.  As  the  work  pro- 
gressed the  traveller  was  moved  ahead  and  the  process  repeated. 
At  the  east  end  of  the  tunnel  no  traveller  was  used,  the  con- 
crete being  shovelled  into  boxes  placed  on  platforms  where  it 


FIG.  25. — Interior  Gunnison  Tunnel. 

was  remixed  and  shovelled  into  the  forms.  The  mixture  here 
was  crushed  rock,  from  the  tunnel  dump,  and  the  smaller  parts 
of  which  were  mixed  with  the  sand  of  the  river,  which  was  very 
fine,  requiring  the  coarser  screenings  to  make  the  proper  gradations. 

Such  parts  of  the  tunnel  as  required  lining  for  support  were 
lined  with  a  heavy  wall-  of  concrete,  12  inches  thick,  the  over- 
breakage  being  filled  with  rock  spauls  carefully  built  in  place. 

This  heavy  lining  was  provided  for  the  entire  length  of  aluvium 
under  Cedar  Creek,  all  of  the  shale  section,  and  the  broken  rock 
through  the  geological  fault.  It  also  included  a  considerable 
part  of  the  work  driven  from  Heading  No.  1,  which  was  all  in 


82  TJNCOMPAHGRE    PROJECT 

granite  or  schist,  but  lining  was  necessary  in  many  places  where 
the  rock  was  broken  or  seamy. 

Those  parts  solid  enough  to  stand  without  timbering  have 
not  been  lined,  but  will  be  lined  on  the  bottom  and  sides,  with  a 
thin  coat  of  concrete  at  some  future  time  when  it  becomes  neces- 
sary to  employ  the  tunnel  to  its  full  capacity. 

The  electric  railway,  which  had  been  used  to  transport  supplies 
and  equipment  into  the  tunnel  and  hauling  out  the  excavated 
material,  was  set  permanently  in  the  concrete  bottom  of  the 
tunnel  and  is,  therefore,  available  for  inspection  and  repairs 
whenever  the  water  is  drawn  out  of  the  tunnel. 

DIVERSION   DAM 

A  diversion  dam  has  been  provided  in  the  Gunnison  River 
to  divert  the  river  into  the  Gunnison  Tunnel.  It  is  a  rock- 
filled  crib  structure,  with  a  crest  240  feet  long  and  18  feet  wide, 
and  an  apron  42  feet  wide.  In  front  of  the  intake  gates  a  sluice- 
way has  been  provided  to  prevent  the  accumulation  of  gravel. 
This  is  provided  with  two  cast-iron  sluice-gates,  each  6  by  8  feet, 
operated  by  hand. 

CANAL   SYSTEMS 

South  Canal. — The  South  Canal  has  a  capacity  of  1,000  second- 
feet,  is  113^  miles  in  length,  and  extends  from  the  west  portal  of 
Gunnison  Tunnel  to  the  Uncompahgre  River,  about  9  miles  south- 
east of  Montrose,  Colo.  Thirteen  thousand  six  hundred  acres 
are  irrigated  from  this  canal. 

Beginning  at  the  end  of  the  portal  cut,  the  dimensions,  dis- 
tances, and  facing  materials  of  the  South  Canal  are  as  follows: 
A  concrete-lined  chute  ending  hi  a  vertical  drop  of  10  feet  and 
given  a  total  fall  of  30  feet  in  520  feet;  concrete-lined  canal  with 
bottom  width  of  25  feet,  depth  of  4.5  feet,  side  slopes  of  1  to  1, 
including  two  vertical  drops  each  of  11.55  feet  fall;  earth  canal 
with  bottom  width  of  30  feet,  depth  of  10  feet,  side  slopes  of  2  to 
1,  extending  1^  miles;  a  concrete-lined  section  with  bottom 
width  of  6.3  feet,  depth  of  8.45  feet,  and  side  slopes  of  1  to  1, 
extending  through  a  40-foot  cut  and  ending  in  two  8.17-foot 
drops;  an  earth  section  with  bottom  width  of  30  feet,  depth  of 
10  feet,  and  side  slopes  of  2  to  1,  extending  nearly  ^  mile  to 
mile  2;  an  inclined-concrete  chute  with  a  fall  of  46  feet  in  350 


COST   OF   GUNNISON    TUNNEL 


83 


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84 


UNCOMPAHGKE    PROJECT 


feet;  a  concrete-lined  canal  with  bottom  width  of  8  feet,  depth  of 
8J/£  feet,  and  side  slopes  of  ^  to  1,  extending  1.5  miles  through 
deep  cuts  and  along  steep  hillsides  and  including  three  concrete- 
lined  tunnels  10  feet  square  and  aggregating  1,877  feet  in  length; 


FIG.  26.— West  Portal  of  Gunnison  Tunnel. 

a  concrete-lined  section  with  a  bottom  width  of  25  feet  and  con- 
taining seven  vertical  drops  with  a  total  fall  of  68  feet  in  2,430 
feet;  a  concrete-lined  section  with  bottom  width  of  13  feet, 
depth  of  6.4  feet,  and  side  slopes  of  ^2  to  1,  extending  half  a  mile; 
an  earth  section  with  bottom  width  of  30  feet,  depth  of  10  feet, 
and  side  slopes  of  2  to  1,  extending,  with  the  exception  of  a  con- 
crete-lined 35-foot  cut,  to  a  short  distance  beyond  mile  8;  a 
concrete-lined  canal,  13  feet  in  bottom  width,  passing  through  a 
40-foot  cut;  a  short  section  of  earth  canal;  tunnel  No.  4,  396 
feet  in  length,  a  concrete-lined  canal  8  feet  in  bottom  width, 
extending  500  feet;  a  352-foot  wooden  flume  across  an  arroyo; 
tunnel  No.  5,  390  feet  in  length;  a  short  length  of  concrete-lined 
canal  8  feet  in  bottom  width;  an  inclined  chute  with  a  fall  of 


86  UNCOMPAHGRE    PROJECT 

25  feet  in  260  feet;  a  concrete-lined  canal  13  feet  in  bottom  width, 
extending  a  third  of  a  mile ;  an  earth  canal  with  a  bottom  width  of 
40  feet,  depth  of  8.3  feet,  and  side  slopes  of  2  to  1,  extending  2V2 
miles  and  ending  in  a  timber  crib  outlet  structure  discharging  into 
the  channel  of  Uncompahgre  River. 

At  several  points  along  the  South  Canal  trouble  has  been 
experienced  by  the  disintegration  of  concrete  under  the  action 
of  the  alkali.  This  occurs  mainly  on  canal  lining,  culverts,  and 
other  points  where  small  masses  of  concrete  are  in  such  contact 
with  ground  water  heavily  laden  with  salts  as  to  permit  the 
water  to  percolate  through  the  concrete  and  evaporate  on  the 
other  side,  thus  leaving  the  salt  crystals  inside  the  concrete,  where 
its  expansive  power  gradually  disintegrates  the  side  on  which 
the  evaporation  takes  place,  gradually  reducing  the  whole  to 
the  consistency  of  mortar.  This  does  not  occur  everywhere, 
nor  anywhere  uniformly,  but  throughout  the  Valley  there  are 
spots  here  and  there  where  this  action  takes  place.  For  this 
reason,  many  head-works  and  -other  structures  have  been  built 
of  wood  where  otherwise  concrete  might  have  been  employed. 
The  damage  to  the  South  Canal  from  this  cause  to  date  is  esti- 
mated at  between  $30,000  and  $40,000. 


SETTLEMENT   OF   SHALE    FOUNDATIONS 

In  several  localities  on  the  Uncompahgre  Valley  Project, 
Colorado,  where  concrete-lined  canals  have  been  constructed 
through  shale,  trouble  has  been  caused  by  settlement  of  the  lining, 
causing  cracks,  increased  seepage,  and  accelerated  disintegration 
of  the  concrete  due  to  alkali  action. 

The  settlement  of  the  lining  and  drops  on  the  South  Canal 
appear  to  be  due  to  water  penetrating  the  indurated  shale  on 
which  structures  are  founded,  and  removing  a  portion  of  the 
soluble  salts  from  the  seams  of  the  shale.  In  many  places  this 
settlement  amounts  to  from  6  to  12  inches.  Any  settlement, 
however  slight,  ruptures  the  concrete  and  allows  more  water  to 
escape  into  the  shale  with  the  result  that  the  alkali  is  removed 
faster  and  the  settlement  accelerated. 

Where  the  piers  are  founded  on  sandy  loam,  or  adobe  soils, 
there  is  no  settlement  even  when  saturated,  unless  whole  areas 
.settle,  as  has  happened  in  several  instances,  due  to  irrigation  or 


88  UXCOMPAHGRE    PROJECT 

to  seep  water.  Where  piers  are  located  on  shale,  they  invariably 
settle  if  the  ground  becomes  wet,  but  in  the  case  of  metallic  flumes, 
it  is  comparatively  easy  to  keep  the  foundation  dry. 

The  tunnel  approaches  on  the  Selig  Tunnel  have  settled  several 
inches,  which  has  caused  a  few  cracks.  These  approaches  are  in 
shale  and  settlement  is  due  to  the  leaching  out  of  soluble  salts. 

In  many  places  where  canals  are  constructed  through  hard 
shale  requiring  powder  to  loosen,  they  have  settled  badly  when 
water  was  turned  through  them.  In  a  few  instances,  the  shale 
has  swelled,  at  first  causing  the  bottom  to  bulge. 

Private  Canals. — In  the  length  of  the  valley,  about  30  miles, 
the  river  falls  over  1,200  feet,  or  about  40  feet  to  the  mile.  This 
makes  a  condition  where  diversion  of  the  waters  of  the  river  is 
comparatively  easy  and  a  large  number  of  small  canals  were 
built  by  private  enterprise  to  command  the  bottom-lands  along 
the  river,  and  several  larger  canals  were  constructed  to  carry 
water  to  the  higher  bench  lands  further  away,  and  in  general 
with  better  soil. 

In  that  portion  of  the  Uncompahgre  Valley  covered  by  the 
works  of  the  Reclamation  Service  there  are  110  canals  and  laterals 
having  an  aggregate  length  of  nearly  500  miles,  constructed  by 
private  enterprise.  Most  of  these  have*been  acquired  by  the 
Reclamation  Service  under  a  general  comprehensive  plan  for  the 
unification  of  the  irrigation  work  of  the  valley.  The  existing 
works  were  only  adapted  to  the  new  system  to  a  very  small 
extent,  most  of  them  requiring  enlargement  or  entire  replacement. 

The  highest  irrigation  in  the  project  is  from  turnouts  taken 
directly  from  the  South  Canal.  At  the  point  where  this  canal 
reaches  the  Uncompahgre  River,  a  siphon  24  inches  in  diameter 
and  1,100  feet  in  length  has  been  provided  to  carry  across  the 
river  the  water  needed  by  the  West  Canal,  which  is  a  new  canal 
built  by  the  Reclamation  Service  to  water  lands  higher  than 
covered  by  the  Montrose  and  Delta  Canal,  which  heads  a  short 
distance  below.  The  latter  canal  was  acquired  by  the  Reclamation 
Service,  enlarged  and  extended  and  new  head-works  built,  which 
include  a  sluicing  basin  and  sluice-gates  to  dispose  of  gravel 
washed  into  the  heading  by  the  floods  of  the  Uncompahgre  River. 

The  Montrose  and  Delta  Canal  diverts  water  from  Uncom- 
pahgre River  about  2  miles  below  the  mouth  of  the  South  Canal, 
and  carries  water  to  Spring  Creek  Mesa,  dropping  its  water  120 


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IRON    PRESSURE    PIPE  91 

feet  into  Coal  Creek  Canyon  about  the  thirty-first  mile.  The 
water  is  diverted  from  Coal  Creek  5  miles  below  the  drop  to 
water  lands  further  down.  This  system  was  constructed  in  1883 
to  1886,  and  was  acquired  by  the  United  States  in  1908  and 
enlarged  to  a  capacity  of  450  cubic  feet  per  second,  or  about 
double  its  former  size.  The  laterals  were  also  enlarged  and  ex- 
tended to  cover  about  33,600  acres  of  land  in  all. 

The  head-works  of  this  canal  when  acquired,  as  well  as  most 
of  the  other  structures,  were  of  wood  in  an  advanced  stage  of 
decay.  The  head-works  were  rebuilt  of  concrete  and  provided 
with  a  sluiceway  for  ridding  the  water  of  its  load  of  gravel  when 
in  flood. 

Several  wooden  flumes  were  also  replaced  by  steel  flumes  on 
concrete  pedestals. 

Iron  Pressure  Pipe. — In  the  extension  of  the  Montrose  and 
Delta  system,  in  order  to  reach  a  portion  of  the  irrigable  area, 
it  became  necessary  to  carry  about  42  cubic  feet  of  water  per 
second  across  a  depression  3,800  feet  wide  in  which  the  maximum 
depth  was  about  200  feet. 

The  depression  to  be  crossed  contained  a  large  amount  of 
alkali,  for  which  reason,  as  well  as  the  high  cost  and  high  head, 
reinforced  concrete  was  not  considered  suitable.  After  con- 
sidering everything,  the  decision  was  reached  to  use  commercially 
"pure  iron"  as  being  more  resistant  to  alkali  action  than  steel, 
and  under  the  conditions  present  more  permanent  than  wood. 

The  contract  specifications  for  the  iron  required  a  tensile 
strength  not  less  than  48,000  nor  more  than  52,000  pounds  per 
square  inch  and  elastic  limit  not  less  than  35,000  pounds.  They 
imposed  limits  of  carbon,  .01  per  cent;  manganese,  .02  per  cent; 
phosphorus,  .005  per  cent;  sulphur,  .02  per  cent;  oxygen,  .03 
per  cent;  and  silicon,  trace.  The  contractor  was  unable  to  secure 
the  specified  elastic  limit  with  this  composition,  and  the  required 
strength  of  pipe  was  achieved  by  increasing  the  thickness  25 
per  cent. 

The  gasket  used  was  of  asbestos  saturated  with  a  mixture  of  red 
lead  and  raw  linseed  oil.  There  were  two  layers  of  asbestos  re- 
inforced with  fine  copper  wire,  the  finished  gasket  being  %6  inch 
thick. 

The  Loutzenhizer  Canal  was  originally  built  in  1883,  with  a 
capacity  of  86  second-feet  by  0.  D.  Loutzenhizer,  and  was  ac- 


92 


UNCOMPAHGRE    PROJECT 


quired  in  1908  by  the  United  States,  and  enlarged  to  a  capacity 
of  290  cubic  feet  per  second,  and  the  laterals  from  it  were  enlarged 
and  extended  to  cover  about  11,200  acres  of  land. 

The  California  Ironstone  Canal  on  the  west  side  of  the  river 
was  built  with  a  capacity  of  about  130  cubic  feet  per  second,  and 


FIG.  31. — Laying  High  Mesa  Pressure  Pipe,  Uncompahgre  Project. 

in  1913  watered  2,332  acres  of  land.  It  has  been  acquired  by 
the  United  States  for  enlargement  to  350  second-feet,  for  the 
irrigation  of  26,000  acres. 

The  United  States  has  also  acquired  and  enlarged  the  Selig 
Canal  to  a  capacity  of  300  cubic  feet  per  second  and  extended  it 
to  additional  acreage,  aggregating  22,400  acres,  all  on  the  east 
side  of  the  Uncompahgre  River.  It  heads  2  miles  northwest 
of  Montrose,  with  a  collapsible  weir-frame  dam,  and  timber 
head-works,  supported  on  piles. 

The  East  Canal  has  timber  head-works  and  a  portion  of  its 
alignment  is  near  or  upon  that  of  the  old  Colorow  Canal  above 


GARNET   MESA    SIPHON 


93 


Olathe.  It  has  a  capacity  of  325  cubic  feet  per  second  at  the 
head,  and  delivers  water  to  22,000  acres.  A  prominent  feature 
of  the  distribution  system  of  this  canal  is  the  Garnet  Mesa  siphon, 
which  delivers  25  second-feet  of  water  to  about  1,825  acres  on 
Garnet  Mesa  through  a  wood-stave  pressure  pipe  8,560  feet  long, 
under  a  maximum  head  of  90  feet. 

Taylor  Park  Reservoir. — The  Uncompahgre  and  Gunnison 
rivers  are  fed  by  melting  snows,  and  begin  to  rise  when  the 
snow  begins  to  melt  in  the  spring,  reaching  culmination  some- 

SUMMAKY   OF   COSTS   OF    GARNET    MESA   SlPHON 


Services 

Surveys 

Excava- 
tion 

Building 

Total 

Foremen          ....                    ... 

$234  67 

$234  67 

Engineering    .  . 

$281  21 

176.21 

$302.17 

75959 

Clerical 

1400 

1400 

Labor 

6  14 

6  14 

Hauling  material  and  supplies.  .  .  . 
Horses 

.17 
38  32 

45.24 
1597 

34.13 
290 

79.54 
57  19 

Contract  payments  

3,798.27 

11,297.38 

15,095.65 

Hauling  siphon  pipe  

388.29 

388.29 

Camp  maintenance  

13.16 

13.16 

Puddling  

653.38 

653.38 

Excavating.    .  .              

1,884.40 

1,884.40 

Recording  right  of  way  

1.45 

1.45 

Creosoting    .    .  . 

1.25 

1  25 

Miscellaneous.  .  . 

33.26 

14.75 

48.01 

Total  services 

$325  84 

$6  871.26 

$12  039  62 

§19  236  72 

Supplies 
General  

$2.20 

$4.64 

$526.22 

$533.06 

Tools  
Hardware  
Lumber  
Depreciation 

.97 
1.20 
6.48 
2  14 

25.28 
1.37 
2.39 

.47 
518.36 
1,710.34 
.71 

26.72 
520.93 
1,719.21 

2.85 

Repairs  to  equipment 

468 

4.28 

8.96 

Explosives  . 

82 

82 

Travel 

1722 

1722 

Creosote 

9392 

9392 

Forage  

3.97 

3.97 

Total  supplies  

$12.99 

$56.40 

$2,858.27 

$2,927.66 

General 
Storehouse  charges    . 

$1  66 

$1  66 

Overhead  charges 

48  59 

$419.33 

$49095 

95887 

Total  "'eneral 

$50  25 

$419  33 

$49095 

$96053 

Grand  total 

$389  08 

$7  346  99 

$15  388  84 

$23  124  91 

> 

94  TJNCOMPAHGRE    PROJECT 

COLORADO — UNCOMPAHGRE  PROJECT  COSTS  TO  DECEMBER  31,  1914 
Summary 


Item 
No. 

Feature 

Total 
Cost 

Per 
Cent 
Com- 
pleted 
Force 
Acct. 

Per 
Cent 
Com- 
pleted 
by  Con- 
tract 

Per 

Cent 
of 
Com- 
pletion 

1 
2 

3 
4 
5 

Gunnison  Tunnel  and  Diversion 
South  Canal  System  
Montrose  and  Delta  
Other  canal  systems  
Drainage  system  

$2,905,307.37 
836,532.11 
394,208.60 
847,734.64 
803.07 

99 
30 

99 
64 
100 

1 

70 
1 
36 
0 

93 
96 
90 
62 
1 

6 

7 
8 
9 
10 

Power  system  
Real  estate  
Buildings  
Telephone  line  
Farm  unit  subdivision 

262.50 
145,724.63 
16,274.62 
6.507.28 
3,555.28 

100 
100 
69 
9 
100 

0 
0 
31 
91 
0 

100 
39 
81 
39 
15 

11 
12 

Preliminary  investigations  
General  administration 

63,445.61 
242  055  58 

100 
100 

0 

o 

100 
100 

13 

Operation  and  maintenance 
during  construction  

368,644.36 

100 

0 

83 

Total  .". 

$5,831,055.65 

83 

17 

63 

time  in  June,  and  then  declining  irregularly  until  winter.  The 
maximum  demand  for  irrigation  is  usually  later  than  the  maximum 
flow  of  the  streams,  and  does  not  decline  so  rapidly.  The  com- 
bined flow  of  both  streams  available  for  irrigation  in  the  Un- 
compahgre  Valley  is  usually  sufficient  for  the  requirements  of 
the  area  to  be  included  in  the  completed  project,  though  some- 
times there  would  be  a  slight  shortage  in  August  or  September. 
One  year  in  the  history,  however,  the  year  1902,  a  phenomenally 
dry  year,  there  would  have  been  according  to  the  record  a  shortage 
of  over  40  per  cent. 

It  may  be  that  in  future  it  will  be  desirable  to  provide  storage 
for  this  project.  With  this  possibility  in  view  studies  have  been 
made  of  a  reservoir  site  on  Taylor  River,  a  tributary  of  the  Gunni- 
son, having  a  drainage  area  above  the  reservoir  site  of  253  square 
miles. 

A  masonry  dam  has  been  designed  for  construction  in  the 
gorge  at  the  lower  end  of  Taylor  Park,  which  would  be  about 
150  feet  above  river-bed,  arched  in  plan,  and  would  store  106,000 
acre-feet  of  water,  costing  $15  or  $16  per  acre-foot. 

•Such   a  reservoir  would   obviate  deficiencies  for  the  future 


GUNNISON    TUNNEL  95- 

unless  a  year  as  low  as  1902  should  again  occur,  in  which  case 
the  shortage,  although  much  reduced,  would  not  be  entirely 
prevented. 

The  Gunnison  Tunnel  and  South  Canal  were  constructed  by 
Mr.  I.  W.  McConnell,  under  the  general  direction  of  J.  H. 
Quinton,  Supervising  Engineer.  The  designs  were  approved 
by  Mr.  Geo.  Y.  Wisner  and  W.  H.  Sanders,  Consulting. 
Engineers. 


CHAPTER  VII 
BOISE  PROJECT 

DESCRIPTION 

The  Boise  River  is  a  tributary  of  Snake  River,  and  drains  an 
area  of  2,650  square  miles  on  the  Western  slope  of  the  Sawtooth 
range  of  mountains,  above  the  point  where  it  leaves  the  moun- 
tains, and  about  1,000  square  miles  more  of  foothill  and  valley 
area. 

It  receives  most  of  its  water  supply  from  the  melting  of  snow 
in  the  mountains,  and  hence  has  a  variation  of  discharge  char- 
acteristic of  such  conditions,  namely,  a  low  stage  in  the  winter 
while  the  mountain  streams  are  frozen,  a  rising  stage  with  the 
progress  of  spring,  reaching  a  culmination  sometime  in  June, 
and  declining  during  July  and  August  as  the  snows  disappear, 
reaching  a  minimum  again  in  winter.  The  regularity  of  this 
program  is  at  times  interrupted  by  rainfall  and  fluctuations  of 
temperature,  but  such  streams  are  far  more  regular  and  depend- 
able than  those  depending  mainly  upon  rainfall  for  their  supply. 
On  such  streams  the  full  utilization  of  the  water  supply  for  irri- 
gation requires  the  storage  of  the  winter  flow  and  the  excess  flow 
of  May  and  June,  for  use  during  July,  August,  September  and 
October,  and  may  require  a  storage  capacity  of  about  one-half 
the  total  amount  of  water  used  in  irrigation,  the  other  half  being 
drawn  from  the  natural  flow  without  storage. 

The  Boise  project  is  one  of  the  largest  undertaken  by  the 
Reclamation  Service.  It  provides  for  the  storage  of  the  waters 
of  Boise  River  at  Arrow  Rock  and  at  Deer  Flat,  and  their  use 
upon  over  200,000  acres  in  the  Boise  Valley.  The  Deer,  Flat 
Reservoir  has  been  completed  by  the  construction  of  one  small, 
and  two  large,  earthen  embankments  containing  an  aggregate  of 
2,320,000  cubic  yards.  The  reservoir  covers  9,250  acres  and 
has  an  available  capacity  above  outlets  of  173,000  acre-feet. 
Water  was  delivered  for  irrigation  from  this  reservoir  in  1911. 
It  is  filled  by  a  long  feed  canal  heading  in  the  Boise  River  above 


DIVERSION    DAM  97 

Barberton,  about  8  miles  above  the  city  of  Boise.  The  lateral 
system  has  been  completed  for  120,000  acres  of  new  land.  Al- 
together 580  miles  of  canal  have  been  built  by  the  Government, 
and  the  complete  project  will  have  over  700  miles  of  canals. 

BOISE   DIVERSION   DAM 

The  diversion  dam  on  the  Boise  River  is  built  of  random 
rubble  basalt  laid  in  portland  cement  concrete,  with  the  faces  of 
selected  stones  laid  with  some  regularity. 

The  length  of  the  masonry  portion  of  dam  is  386  feet,  and 
core  walls  extend  into  the  hills  nearly  200  feet  more.  Its  height 
from  lowest  foundation  to  top  of  abutment  walls  is  about  68  feet. 
It  raises  the  low- water  stage  34  feet.  It  is  founded  on  gravel 
and  boulders,  and  has  an  ogee  overflow  spillway  section  216  feet 
in  length,  and  a  logway  30  feet  wide,  4  feet  lower  than  the  main 
spillway  from  which  it  is  separated  by  a  wall  4  feet  thick  and  7 
feet  high.  A  fish  ladder  is  also  provided  next  to  the  logway.  At 
the  lower  toe  of  the  dam  is  provided  an  apron  of  rock-filled  crib- 
work,  decked  with  4-inch  lumber,  founded  13  feet  below  the  bed 
of  the  river.  This  extends  down-stream  50  feet  beyond  the 
masonry  toe.  (Fifth  A.  R.,  P.  124.) 

A  bank  of  sand  and  gravel  on  a  slope  of  3  to  1  and  reaching 
about  two-thirds  of  the  height  was  provided  on  the  up-stream  side. 
The  entire  pond  has  since  been  filled  with  sand  deposited  by  the 
river  since  construction. 

For  the  diversion  of  the  river  during  construction,  two  parallel 
tunnels  were  provided  in  the  left  bank,  each  6X8  feet,  closed 
by  cast-iron  gates.  These  tunnels  are  160  feet  long  and  are  lined 
with  concrete,  and  more  recently  a  third  tunnel  has  been  built 
parallel  to  the  other  two,  and  all  are  used  as  tail-races  in  the 
development  of  power,  and  the  power-house  built  over  them. 
They  are  now  controlled  by  butterfly  gates,  each  9  X  12  feet, 
protected  by  a  grillage  in  front. 

To  the  south  of  the  power-house  are  the  head-works  of  the 
main  canal,  consisting  of  a  set  of  eight  cast-iron  gates,  each  5X9 
feet,  operated  by  hand. 

The  logway  is  closed  by  a  roller  dam  of  30  feet  span,  and  a 
chord  length  of  8  feet.  This  type  of  closure  was  selected  as  one 
that  could  be  closed  with  little  leakage,  requires  but  one  span, 


98  BOISE    PROJECT 

permits  overflow  during  floods,  and  can  be  raised  high  enough 
to  be  entirely  clear  of  the  water  surface  to  permit  the  passage  of 
logs  and  drift  without  danger.  It  was  found  also  that  it  could 
be  installed  cheaper  than  any  other  type  considered.  The  device 
designed  for  this  purpose  consists  of  a  small  cylinder  of  1  foot 
3%  inches  radius,  to  which  is  attached  by  suitable  bracing  the 
dam  proper,  a  cross-section  of  which  is  an  arc  of  a  circle  with  a 
6-foot  radius  and  having  a  chord  length  of  8  feet.  The  center 
of  curvature  of  this  arc  is  4  feet  down-stream  from  the  center  of 
the  small  cylinder  or  shaft,  and  about  9  inches  below  it  when 
the  dam  is  closed.  At  each  end  it  has  a  gear  engaging  a  rack 
laid  on  inclined  abutments,  and  by  means  of  a  sprocket  chain 
wrapped  around  one  end  of  the  cylinder  and  connecting  with 
the  operating  mechanism  the  dam  is  rolled  up  the  abutments  to 
open  it,  and  rolled  down  to  close  the  opening.  The  racks  are  laid 
on  an  angle  of  21%  degrees  with  the  vertical. 

The  inside  faces  of  the  concrete  piers  forming  the  abutments 
converge  slightly  up-stream,  and  at  each  end  of  the  dam  is  a  flexi- 
ble plate  bound  with  oak  timbers  which  spring  against  the  abut- 
ments as  the  dam  is  being  closed,  thus  making  it  practically  water- 
tight at  the  ends.  An  oak  sill,  attached  to  the  bottom  of  the  dam 
proper,  rests  on  the  crest  of  the  logway  when  the  dam  is  closed 
to  secure  water-tightness  at  the  bottom.  An  inclined  timber 
facing,  tangent  to  the  cylindrical  shaft,  extends  down-stream  from 
the  crest  of  the  dam  so  that  water  and  debris  may  pass  over  the 
structure  without  injuring  it.  When  the  dam  is  open  it  leaves  a 
clearance  above  the  logway  of  about  18  feet.  The  controlling 
mechanism  is  operated  by  a  direct-connected  motor  of  3  horse- 
power at  500  r.p.m.,  but  hand  control  is  also  arranged  for  use  in 
case  of  trouble  with  the  motor.  Fifteen  to  twenty  minutes  are 
required  to  fully  open  the  dam  with  the  motor. 

COST  OF  ROLLING  DAM 

'Preparatory  expense  (including  installation  and  removal  of  coffer- 
dam)    $    802.18 

Transportation  of  laborers ; 327.57 

Cutting  and  facing  old  concrete 1,593.95 

Placing  concrete 1,271.16 

Rolling  dam  and  accessories,  f .  o.  b.  Boise 2,307.34 

Installation 1,105.94 

Purchase  and  installation  of  motor 122.50 

Total..                                                                                             .  $7,530.64 


100  BOISE    PROJECT 


BOISE   MAIN   CANAL 

The  main  canal  has  a  capacity  of  about  2,700  cubic  feet  per 
second  and  will  carry  water  for  the  direct  irrigation  of  about 
160,000  acres  of  desert  land  and  also  will  be  used  as  a  feed  canal 
to  carry  water  to  the  Deer  Flat  Reservoir  about  four  miles  south- 
west of  Nampa.  Through  much  of  its  length,  it  is  located  on  the 
alignment  of  the  old  New  York  Canal,  the  right  of  way  of  which 
was  utilized.  About  25  miles  from  its  head  the  canal  reaches 
Indian  Creek  into  which  most  of  the  water  is  dropped,  and  diverted 
7  miles  below,  whence  the  canal  extends  about  8  miles  further 
to  the  Deer  Flat  Reservoir. 

Where  the  canal  is  dropped  into  Indian  Creek,  a  lateral,  called 
the  "Mora  High  Line,"  is  continued  southward  on  the  higher 
grade  of  the  canal  to  water  such  land  as  it  can  reach.  Above  this 
point  there  are  five  turnouts,  each  constructed  of  concrete. 

Along  the  same  parts  of  the  canal  were  located  three  com- 
bined culverts  and  wasteways  at  Five-mile,  Eight-mile,  and  Ten- 
mile  Creeks,  respectively.  About  five  miles  before  reaching 
Indian  Creek  the  canal  passes  the  Hubbard  Reservoir,  which  had 
been  built  by  private  capital  years  before,  and  filled  from  the 
New  York  Canal.  Its  nominal  capacity  was  about  4,000  acre- 
feet,  but  it  was  constructed  in  a  locality  of  fissures  and  cavities 
in  the  natural  rock,  and  the  losses  of  water  were  so  great  that  it 
was  a  practical  failure  as  a  storage  reservoir.  It  was  purchased 
by  the  Government  for  use  as  a  wasteway  to  permit  the  quick 
discharge  of  waters  of  the  canal  in  case  of  a  break,  and  the  water 
can  be  used  from  this  reservoir  during  repairs  to  the  canal.  Its 
purchase  effected  a  considerable  saving  over  the  cost  of  a  waste- 
way  to  the  river,  besides  saving  the  water  turned  out. 

The  diversion  from  Indian  Creek  into  the  lower  division  of  the 
canal  is  effected  by  a  concrete  diverting-weir  with  a  waste-gate 
in  it.  The  diversion  is  made  through  six  cast-iron  slide  gates, 
each  4X6  feet,  operated  by  hand.  The  concrete  was  mixed  in  the 
proportions  1:4:6,  and  crushed  rock  was  used  for  the  coarse 
aggregate. 

The  Boise  Main  Canal  was  originally  designed  to  have  a  bottom 
width  of  70  feet,  side  slopes  of  1J/2  to  1,  bank  heights  12  feet  above 
the  bottom  of  the  canal,  water  depth  8  feet,  and  a  grade  of  .00025 
for  the  first  18,000  feet  and  .00032  below  that  point. 


'•'^BflRBF4      *#**• 

•1111 


V! 


102  BOISE    PROJECT 

The  location  at  the  diversion  dam,  and  for  some  distance 
below,  is  on  a  steep  side  hill  formed  by  a  talus  slope  of  a  basalt 
plateau  containing  a  considerable  percentage  of  loose  rock. 

Below  the  canyon  the  valley  consists  of  a  series  of  benches  or 
mesas  sloping  to  the  west,  which  the  canal  is  designed  to  irrigate. 
In  reaching  the  tops  of  these  benches,  it  is  necessary  to  locate  the 
canal  upon  a  steep  side  hill  for  a  large  portion  of  the  distance 
down  the  valley. 

The  demands  of  irrigation  and  the  limitation  of  funds  required 
the  excavation  of  this  canal  at  part  capacity  at  first,  having  a 
base  width  of  40  feet. 

When  it  became  necessary  to  enlarge  the  canal  to  its  final 
capacity  of  2,700  cubic  feet  per  second,  it  was  found  that  in  mamr 
of  the  sections  where  the  location  was  upon  steep  ground  or  in 
hard  material  it  would  be  more  economical  to  line  the  canal  with 
concrete  instead  of  enlarging  it.  It  was  necessary  to  do  this 
work  between  the  close  of  the  irrigation  season  and  the  cold 
weather. 

The  lining  at  the  head-gates  was  carried  to  a  point  11.5  feet 
above  the  bottom  of  the  canal  to  protect  it  from  wave  action.  This 
was  gradually  stepped  down  to  a  height  of  9.5  feet.  The  concrete 
is  4  inches  thick  and  is  provided  with  expansion  joints  at  16-foot 
intervals  transverse  to  the  canal  prism,  and  with  longitudinal 
joints  in  lines  parallel  to  the  canal  center  line.  These  joints  were 
placed  halfway  up  the  side  slopes  and  13  feet  4  inches  from  the 
toe  of  the  slopes. 

Transition  sections  100  feet  long  are  provided  from  the  con- 
crete-lined stretches  to  the  earth  stretches  of  the  canal,  and  at  the 
beginning  and  ends  of  each  lined  stretch  cut-off  walls  1  foot 
thick  and  2  feet  deep  were  installed. 

Extensive  smoothing  and  rectification  of  the  banks  and  bottom 
of  the  canal  were  necessary  and  the  banks  were  carefully  graded 
with  pick  and  shovel  and  thoroughly  tamped  to  secure  solid 
foundations  for  the  concrete. 

Concrete  was  laid  in  the  bottom  of  the  canal  from  each  side, 
leaving  an  8-foot  roadway  in  the  center  of  the  canal  for  trans- 
porting material.  The  slopes  were  then  paved  and  lastly  the 
center  portion,  or  roadway,  was  paved. 

Most  of  this  lining  has  now  been  in  service  for  from  five  to  six 
years  and  there  has  been  no  apparent  deterioration  except  in  a 


' 


104 


BOISE    PROJECT 


few  places  where  hard  freezing  occurred,  which  were  repaired 
soon  after. 

Careful  cost  records  were  kept  of  ah1  the  work  and  the  following 
table  covers  all  expenses  of  whatsoever  nature  incident  to  the 
work  except  overhead  charges,  which  would  amount  to  about 
4^2  per  cent. 


Item 

Unit  Cost  per 
Cubic  Yard  of 
Concrete 

Unit  Cost  per 
Linear  Foot 
of  Canal 

*2   349 

$9    195 

Plant            

0.858 

0.801 

Gravel  and  sand  

1.079 

1  008 

Cement    

2.963 

2  767 

Water  '  

0.222 

0.207 

Forms  

0.177 

0.165 

Mixing  and  placing  
Supplies  

1.603 
0.107 

1.497 
0.100 

Superintendence  and  accounts  
Engineering  

0.172 
0.098 

0.161 
0.092 

Total  for  concrete  

$7.279 

$6.798 

Total  for  concrete  and  foundation  

9.628 

8.993 

DEER   FLAT   RESERVOIR 

This  reservoir  is  located  southwest  of  Nampa,  Idaho,  and 
consists  of  an  irregular  depression  in  the  hills,  closed  by  the 
construction  of  embankments  in  three  natural  gaps.  It  has  a 
surface  area  of  9,800  acres,  and  a  capacity  above  lowest  outlet 
of  180,000  acre-feet.  Following  is  a  table  showing  capacity  at 
various  elevations: 

AREA  AND  CAPACITY  OF  DEER  FLAT  RESERVOIR 


Elevation, 
Feet 

Area, 
Acres 

Capacity,      j 
Acre-Feet 

Elevation, 
Feet 

Area, 
Acres 

Capacity, 
Acre-Feet 

2,485  .  . 
2,490  
2,495  
2,500  
2,505  

200 
400 
800 
1,800 
3,150 

0 
2,000 
6,000     • 
13,000 
25,000 

2,510  
2,515  
2,520  ! 
2,525  ! 
2,530  

4,500 
5,800 
7,000 
8,300 
9,800 

44,000 

69,000 
100,000 
137,000 
180.000 

Upper  Deer  Flat  Embankment. — The  upper  embankment  of 
Deer  Flat  has  a  height  of  68  feet  and  a  length  of  3,930  feet,  and 
contains  1,170,000  cubic  yards  of  earth  and  gravel.  The  water 


106  BOISE    PROJECT 

slope  is  3  to  1,  and  the  lower  slope  2  to  1.  In  addition  the  water 
slope  is  heavily  blanketed  with  coarse  gravel. 

This  structure  was  advertised  and  three  bids  on  the  earth- 
work were  36,  37  and  37^  cents  per  yard,  respectively.  After 
careful  consideration  of  the  cost,  these  bids  were  rejected  as  being 
too  high,  and  the  work  was  undertaken  directly  by  the  Government. 

The  following  equipment  was  used  to  build  the  dam  and  outlet 
at  a  total  cost  of  $77,000:  Two  70-ton  Atlantic  steam  shovels, 
four  locomotives,  sixty  dump  cars,  427,000  pounds  of  rails,  two  road 
machines,  five  sprinkling  wagons,  one  steam  pump,  one  concrete 
mixer,  two  concrete  rollers  and  miscellaneous  tools. 

The  material  was  excavated  writh  steam  shovels  and  two  trains 
of  twelve  cars  each  to  attend  each  shovel. 

The  material  is  generally  a  sandy  gravel  with  small  varying 
proportions  of  clay.  Some  selection  was  exercised  to  get  the 
material  showing  considerable  proportions  of  clay  in  the  up-stream 
half  of  the  dam.  A  few  feet  under  the  natural  surface  of  the 
ground  is  a  stratum  of  hardpan  usually  several  feet  in  thickness, 
to  loosen  which  some  powder  was  used.  Indurated  chunks  appear- 
ing on  the  bank  wrere  broken  by  the  hand  use  of  a  sledge  hammer. 

The  railroad  track  was  laid  directly  on  the  dam,  and  after 
dumping  a  train-load  of  material  the  track  was  moved  about  14 
feet  by  hitching  to  it  a  heavy  span  of  horses  and  dragging  it 
sideways,  repeating  the  operation  at  suitable  intervals.  Very 
little  alignment  with  bars  was  found  necessary.  In  the  mean- 
time, other  trains  would  dump  from  other  parts  of  the  track,  and 
it  was  easy  for  two  men  and  one  heavy  span  of  horses  to  attend 
to  the  track  movement  for  two  trains  of  cars,  until  the  edge  of 
the  dam  was  reached,  when  some  assistance  was  necessary  to 
start  the  track  on  its  way  back. 

This  method  distributed  the  material  so  evenly  over  the  dam 
that  two  road  machines  were  ample  to  complete  the  spreading 
of  300  cubic  yards  per  hour.  After  spreading,  heavy  four-horse 
sprinkling  carts  were  employed  to  thoroughly  wet  the  material, 
and  also  served  as  effective  rollers.  Grooved  concrete  rollers 
were  also  employed  to  complete  the  packing. 

To  expedite  the  work  it  was  decided  to  pay  a  premium  for 
large  output.  In  addition  to  the  regular  wages,  for  all  yardage 
over  22,000  cubic  yards  per  shovel  per  month,  reckoning  from 
the  fifteenth  to  the  fifteenth  of  each  month,  a  yardage  bonus  was 


108  BOISE    PROJECT 

paid  the  steam-shovel  and  locomotive  men  and  track  foremen  as 
follows:  Steam-shovel  runners,  ^3  cents;  steam-shovel  cranes- 
men,  3/<2  cent;  steam-shovel  firemen,  %  cent;  locomotive  en- 
gineers, ^2  cent;  track  foreman,  %  cent;  making  a  total  cost  of 
3?4  cents  per  yard. 

The  costs  of  this  work  are  shown  in  table: 

TABLE  3 — COST  OF  UPPER  DEER  FLAT  EMBANKMENT 


Per  Cubic 
Yard 


Excavation i  6.3 

Hauling 8.3 

Spreading 1.8 

Sprinkling 1.8 

Rolling 1.3 

Depreciation 4.1 

Engineering,  superintendence  and  general  expense 3.9 


Total  cost  per  cubic  yard j     27 . 5  cents 


Lower  Deer  Flat  Embankment. — The  Lower  Deer  Flat  Embank- 
ment was  built  under  contract  and  was  completed  in  January, 
1908.  It  is  7,350  feet  long  and  the  greatest  height  is  43  feet. 
The  body  of  the  dam  is  of  earth  obtained  from  borrow  pits  within 
the  reservoir.  A  blanket  of  gravel  3  feet  thick  is  spread  over  the 
water  face,  and  the  down-stream  fourth  of  the  dam  is  entirely  of 
gravel. 

The  earth  was  loaded  into  dump  wagons  by  elevating  graders, 
except  a  small  portion  which  was  placed  by  wheel  scrapers. 
Road  machines  were  used  for  spreading,  and  sprinkling  carts  for 
sprinkling. 

The  gravel  was  obtained  from  borrow  pits  near  the  north  end 
of  the  dam,  the  bottom  of  these  pits  being  nearly  level  with  the 
top  of  the  dam,  so  that  most  of  the  haul  was  either  down -hill  or 
level.  The  average  haul  for  gravel  was  about  4,000  feet,  and 
was  made  by  locomotives  and  dump  cars.  The  loading  was 
done  by  a  60-ton  Vulcan  steam  shovel.  The  principal  equipment 
used  on  this  dam  is  as  follows,  the  total  cost  being  $50,000:  One 
Vulcan  60-ton  steam  shovel,  two  locomotives,  thirty-two  dump 
cars,  1^2  miles  rails  and  switches,  four  elevating  graders,  two 
road  graders,  forty-eight  dump  wagons,  two  traction  engines, 
sixteen  fresno  scrapers,  five  tongue  scrapers,  nine  slip  scrapers, 


SLOPE    PROTECTION  109 

seventeen  wheel  scrapers,  four  sprinkling  wagons,  two  concrete 
rollers,  four  small  gasoline  engines,  three  small  centrifugal  pumps, 
fifteen  plows,  one  derrick  and  miscellaneous  tools. 

The  contract  prices  were  24  cents  per  yard  for  earth  and  35 
cents  per  yard  for  gravel.  Allowing  a  salvage  of  only  20  per 
cent  on  equipment,  the  total  cost  to  the  contractor  was  21  cents 
per  yard  for  earth  and  29  cents  per  yard  for  gravel,  exclusive  of 
administrative  expenses,  which  doubtless  left  him  a  satisfactory 
profit. 

Slope  Protection. — One  of  the  problems  connected  with  the 
construction  of  these  embankments  was  the  protection  of  the 
water  slope  against  wave  action.  The  extensive  area  and  exposed 
position  of  the  lake  indicated  that  the  wave  action  would  at 
times  be  strong  and  that  protection  was  according]}-  important. 
No  rock  was  to  be  found  in  the  vicinity  of  either  embankment 
and  the  distance  from  railroad  connections  made  the  importation 
of  rock  from  a  distance  very  expensive.  The  same  conditions 
made  the  cost  of  concrete  high  and  pavement  with  this  material 
would  also  be  very  expensive.  The  importance  of  the  question 
was  emphasized  by  the  great  extent  of  the  water  slope  in  each 
embankment  and  it  was  finally  concluded  to  try  the  experiment 
of  protecting  these  slopes  by  an  excess  quantity  of  coarse  gravel. 

After  finishing  the  dam  to  the  lines  required  by  the  drawings, 
with  3  to  1  water  slope  and  20  feet  top  width,  the  equipment  on 
the  ground  was  employed  in  widening  the  top  by  dumping  from 
cars  on  the  water  slope  the  coarsest  material  available,  moving 
the  tracks  outward  as  the  top  width  of  the  embankment  in- 
creased. This  material  was  composed  of  water-worn  sand  and 
gravel,  varying  from  cobbles  of  50  pounds  weight  through  all  the 
intermediate  sizes  to  very  fine  sand,  the  proportion  of  coarse 
material  varying  somewhat  but  never  great.  In  this  way  the 
upper  embankment  received  about  95,000  cubic  yards  of  extra 
material,  which  was  deposited  on  the  water  slope,  taking  its 
natural  angle  of  repose  and  widening  the  top  of  the  embankment 
to  51  to  67  feet.  A  larger  quantity  was  necessary  on  the  lower 
embankment,  as  this  is  much  longer  and  required  about  226,000 
cubic  yards  of  material.  It  is  the  intention  to  let  the  wave  action 
do  the  rest,  keeping  close  watch  for  the  necessity  of  any  further 
operations. 

As  the  waves  attack  the  gravel  slope,   they  will  gradual!}' 


110 


BOISE    PROJECT 


undermine  and  cause  the  gravel  to  creep  down  the  slope.  The 
finest  materials  will  be  carried  some  distance  into  the  lake  before 
being  deposited,  those  a  little  coarser  being  washed  down  the 
slope  with  considerable  freedom  and  the  coarser  materials  being 
moved  with  less  facility.  In  this  way,  by  an  automatic  sorting 


FIG.  37. — Upper  Deer  Flat  Embankment,  showing  beaching  of  gravel  slope. 

process,  the  finer  materials  will  be  deposited  on  the  bottom  of  the 
reservoir  near  the  base  of  the  dam  and  be  of  service  in  making 
this  area  more  impervious  and  preventing  seepage  under  the  dam. 
The  materials  left  on  the  slope  will  become  gradually  coarser  from 
the  bottom  upward  and  finally  the  coarsest  materials  available 
will  be  left  as  a  sort  of  paving  or  riprap,  and  in  time  each  material 
will  take  the  slope  at  which  it  can  resist  the  wave  action,  resulting 
finally  in  a  flattened  slope  paved  .with  water-selected,  coarse 
material  of  gravel  and  cobbles.  Experience  with  the  reservoir 
has  shown  that  any  obtainable  tightening  of  the  bottom  is  very 
desirable,  but  it  is  impossible  to  tell  what  influence  this  sorting 
process  has  had  upon  the  large  improvement  that  has  been  noticed 
in  the  seepage  conditions  since  the  reservoir  was  first  placed  in 


DEER    FLAT    RESERVOIR  111 

service.  The  reservoir  has  now  been  in  service  five  seasons,  begin- 
ning with  1910,  and  although  the  area  submerged  has  increased 
every  year,  the  seepage  during  1914  was  less  than  in  previous 
3'ears,  and  less  than  one-third  of  that  occurring  in  1911. 

During  the  four  past  seasons  a  large  amount  of  water  has  been 
stored  in  the  reservoir  and  extensive  wave  action  upon  the  em- 
bankments has  been  experienced.  During  1913,  1914,  1915,  and 
1916,  the  reservoir  was  practically  full  in  midsummer  and  the 
conditions  approximate  those  of  normal  use  of  the  reservoir. 

Profiles  of  the  slopes  taken  at  frequent  intervals  along  both 
embankments  show  that  several  terraces  or  beaches  have  been 
formed  at  the  elevation  which  the  lake  happens  to  hold  at  the 
time  of  wind-storms,  but  subsequent  action  tends  to  obliterate 
each  beach  or  terrace  and  to  gradually  work  down  the  slope  and 
flatten  it.  At  no  point,  however,  has  the  work  of  the  waves 
reduced  the  top  width  to  a  dimension  approaching  that  indicated 
in  the  original  design.  See  Fig.  37. 

At  the  upper  embankment,  it  will  be  possible  to  repeat  the 
processes  of  gravel  reinforcement  at  least  twice  before  reaching 
the  cost  of  paving  the  entire  water  slope,  and  it  seems  certain 
that  this  will  never  be  required.  At  the  lower  embankment,  the 
advent  of  the  railway  since  the  embankment  was  constructed 
opens  the  possibility  of  employing  either  rock  or  concrete  at  some 
future  date  should  further  operations  appear  to  be  required.  The 
present  indications  are  that  considerable  economy  is  likely  to  be 
accomplished  over  the  cost  of  paving  the  embankment  slopes  by 
the  usual  methods  at  time  of  construction. 


SEEPAGE   LOSSES 

A  large  amount  of  seepage  occurred  from  the  Deer  Flat  Reser- 
voir when  it  was  first  put  in  service.  In  1909,  it  was  filled  only 
a  few  feet  above  the  gate  sills,  and  but  little  was  used.  Of  the 
amount  admitted  more  than  three-fourths  seeped  away,  leaving 
less  than  one-fourth  in  the  reservoir  when  refilling  was  begun  in 
the  fall. 

In  each  successive  year  the  reservoir  has  been  filled  to  a 
greater  height,  and  a  greater  area  has  been  submerged,  but  the 
percentage  of  seepage  loss  has  decreased  each  year.  In  1914, 
the  submerged  area  was  greater  than  any  previous  year,  and  the 


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38.— Curves  of  Seepage  from  Deer  Flat  Reservoir.     Showing  the 
Improvement  with  Use. 


ARROWROCK    RESERVOIR 


113 


total  amount  of  seepage  was  actually  less  than  any  previous  year. 
The  steady  improvement  is  clearly  shown  in  the  diagram,  Fig.  38. 
This  shows  for  the  nine  months  beginning  January  1,  1914, 
a  seepage  loss  of  about  9  feet  in  depth,  or  1  foot  in  depth  per 
month,  an  average  rate  of  percolation  of  two-fifths  of  an  inch 
per  day.  This  is  about  one-tenth  the  rate  of  percolation  from 
canals  in  good  earth  and  is  about  what  might  be  expected  from  a 
concrete-lined  canal.  The  steady  improvement  and  the  remark- 
able tightness  attained  are  obviously  due  to  the  rilling  of  the  sub- 
soil with  water  which  can  not  readily  escape  and  not  to  any 
abnormal  tightness  of  the  soil. 


ARROWROCK   RESERVOIR 

A  thorough  reconnaissance  of  the  drainage  basin  of  the  Boise 
River  failed  to  discover  any  site  for  storage  more  favorable  than 
one  at  Arrowrock,  about  4  miles  below  the  junction  of  the  north 
and  south  forks  of  the  Boise,  and  about  22  miles  above  the  city 
of  Boise.  At  this  point,  it  intercepts  the  drainage  from  2,600  square 
miles.  The  storage  capacity  of  this  basin  is  given  in  the  following 
table: 

AREA  AND  CAPACITY  OF  ARROWROCK  RESERVOIR 


Elevation, 
Feet 

Area, 
Acres 

Capacity, 
Acre-Feet 

Elevation, 
Feet 

Area, 
Acres 

Capacity, 
Acre-Feet 

2,960  

2,970  
2,980  
2.990  
3,000  
3,010  
3020 

8 
31 
56 
85 
116 
147 
187 

19 
216 

657 
1,375 
2,391 
3,719 
5401 

3,100  :. 
3,110  
3,120  
3,130  
3,140  
3,150  
3  160 

975 
1,123 
1,252 
1,405 
1,570 
1,741 
1  890 

45,083 

55,651 
67,588 
80,929 
95,878 
112,505 
130  720 

3030 

238 

7  538 

3  170 

2053 

150517 

3,040  
3,050  
3,060  
3,070  
3,080  
3,090  

304 
378 
458 
540 
637 
788 

10,277 
13,716 
17,934 
22,963 

28,888 
36,105 

3,180  
3,190  
3,200  
3,210  
3,220  

2,228 
2,423 
2,655 
2,864 
3,086 

172,009 
195,425 
221,004 

248,687 
278,506 

Arrowrock  Dam. — The  canyon  at  the  dam  site  has  high  bare 
granite  cliffs  on  the  north  side,  with  a  less  precipitous  slope  on 
the  south,  the  foot  of  the  slope  being  capped  with  a  wedge  of 
basalt,  nearly  perpendicular  at  the  river,  forming  a  cliff  70  to  80 


114 


BOISE    PROJECT 


feet  high,  with  a  level  bench  intersecting  the  granite  slope  further 
back.  This  bench  and  the  granite  slope  above  it  were  covered 
with  a  layer  of  soil  and  some  vegetation.  The  site  of  the  dam 
was  thoroughly  explored  by  diamond  drills,  showing  a  foundation 


of  good  granite  at  a  maximum  depth  of  90  feet  below  the  bed  of  the 
river,  and  a  depth  of  60  to  70  feet  over  most  of  the  foundation, 
the  overlying  material  consisting  of  sand,  gravel,  and  boulders 
suitable  for  use  in  concrete. 


116 


BOISE    PROJECT 


For  the  purpose  of  transporting  men  and  materials  for  the 
,..,,„.  :l  railroad  was  built  from  Barberton,  the  nearest  railroad 
point,  about  five  miles  al>ove  the  city  of  Boise.  This  road  is 


BOISE  PROJECT  IDAHO 

ARROWROCK  DAM 
MAXIMUM  CROSS  SECTION 


Flan  and  Mctlon  of  spillwaj 
TjpU-al  Motion  of  diversion  tunnel 
Crvi»  Rations  north  wlngitalls  at  tunn«] 

Inkt  and  outlet 
CrwM  aevtlons  south  wlugviUs  at  tunnel 

Inlrt  and  outlet 
CIOM  Krtiusj  uf  cxfferdaui 


FIG.  41. — Maximum  Section  of  Arrowrock  Dam. 

standard  gage,  17  miles  long,  with  a  maximum  grade  of  1^  per 
cent  and  a  maximum  curvature  of  12  degrees.  There  are  two 
river  crossings,  one  at  Gooseneck,  consisting  of  two  through 
trusses  of  150  feet  each,  and  the  other  at  Arrowrock,  consisting  of 
four  deck  spans  of  G8  feet  each. 


ARROWROCK   DAM  H7 

The  dam  is  built  of  concrete  with  about  20  per  cent  of  stones, 
or  "plumrock"  imbedded  therein.  The  plan  of  the  dam  is  on 
a  radius  of  670  feet,  measured  to  the  parapet  wall.  No  dependence, 
however,  is  placed  upon  arch  action,  the  profile  being  computed  as 
a  gravity  structure,  with  pressures  limited  to  30  tons  per  square 
foot,  reservoir  full.  The  maximum  height  of  the  dam  is  354 
feet  from  lowest  foundation  to  top  of  parapet.  The  dam  is 
about  200  feet  long  at  river-bed  and  about  1,060  feet  at  the  road- 
way over  the  top. 

In  order  to  prevent  leakage  in  the  foundation  of  the  dam,  a 
line  of  holes  was  drilled  into  the  foundation  just  below  the  up- 
stream face  of  the  dam  to  depths  of  30  to  40  feet.  They  were 
grouted  under  pressure,  but  the  solidity  of  the  rock  was  such 
that  it  took  but  little  grout.  About  20  feet  down-stream  from 
the  grouted  drill  holes,  another  line  of  holes  was  drilled  to  serve 
as  drainage  holes  to  relieve  any  leakage  under  the  dam.  These 
were  continued  upward  into  the  masonry  and  emerged  into  a 
large  tunnel  running  the  entire  length  of  the  dam  described  below. 

At  intervals  of  100  feet,  radial  contraction  joints  are  provided 
where  adhesion  is  prevented  by  forming  and  oiling,  but  which 
are  closed  as  tightly  as  possible. 

A  drainage  tunnel  is  provided  about  25  feet  inside  the  water 
face  of  the  dam,  following  just  above  and  parallel  to  the  natural 
ground  surface  into  which  the  wells  in  the  foundation  emerge 
and  into  which  they  will  discharge  any  water  they  may  receive 
under  pressure.  In  the  river  channel  portion  of  the  dam  this 
tunnel  is  made  25  feet  wide  and  30  feet  high,  giving  room  for  the 
operation  of  drilling  machinery  in  case  a  need  for  further  grouting 
in  the  foundation  should  develop.  The  tunnel  has  an  entrance 
at  each  end,  and  an  additional  one  near  the  left  end. 

A  radial  branch  tunnel  leads  to  the  down -stream  toe  of  the  dam 
to  discharge  any  drainage  water  that  may  appear.  Drainage 
wells  extend  upward  from  the  main  tunnel  nearly  to  the  top  of 
the  dam,  at  intervals  of  10  feet,  to  intercept  and  discharge  water 
percolating  into  the  masonry. 

Spillway. — A  spillway  is  provided  at  the  right  bank  consisting 
of  a  concrete  lip  250  feet  long,  10  feet  below  the  top  of  the  parapet 
of  the  dam.  Over  this  lip  the  surplus  water  will  flow  into  a  con- 
crete channel  growing  wider  and  deeper  down-stream.  The  spill- 
way will  be  provided  by  a  movable  crest  operating  automatically 


118  BOISE    PROJECT 

to  open  as  the  water  approaches  the  top  of  the  dam,  and  closing 
as  it  i •<•(•(•« Irs.  The  open  spillway  has  a  rated  capacity  of  40,000 
cubic  feet  IXT  second  which  is  much  greater  than  the  volume  of 
any  recorded  flood.  It  will  discharge  its  waters  into  the  canyon 
of  Deer  Creek,  which  flows  into  the  river  seme  distance  below  the 
dam. 

Control  Works.— The  lowest  outlet  from  the  Arrowrock  Res- 
ervoir is  at  elevation  2,955,  about  the  original  bed  of  the  river. 
It  consists  of  five  radial  conduits  through  the  dam,  each  controlled 
by  duplicate  slide  sluice-gates,  designed  to  operate  under  about  60 
feet  head  when  the  water  is  too  low  in  the  reservoir  to  be  drawn  in 
sufficient  quantity  from  the  conduits  above.  The  gates  are  5  feet 
square,  discharging  into  a  special  cast-iron  conduit  5  feet  square 
of  entrance,  and  warping  to  a  circle  of  5  feet  diameter  in  its  length 
of  8  feet,  the  conduit  below  this  being  composed  of  rich  concrete, 
circular  in  form  and  five  feet  in  diameter.  Each  gate  is  controlled 
by  a  piston  and  stem  working  in  a  cylinder  in  a  chamber  above 
operated  by  oil  pressure  tested  to  600  pounds  per  square  inch. 
The  cylinders  are  of  cast  steel,  24  inches  internal  diameter,  with 
wales  %  inch  thick.  The  position  of  these  gates  is  shown  on 
drawing,  Fig.  40. 

Another  set  of  radial  conduits,  seven  in  number,  are  placed 
with  their  centers  at  3,009  at  the  reservoir  end,  and  4  feet  higher 
at  the  down-stream  end,  to  insure  their  filling  with  water  when  in 
use.  In  each  of  these  conduits  is  placed  a  balanced  valve  operat- 
ing by  water  pressure  of  the  Ensign  type.  The  diameter  of  each 
valve  is  58  inches.  Three  other  similar  conduits,  similarhr  con- 
trolled, are  provided  at  the  same  level,  on  the  left  bank,  just  above 
the  natural  ground  level  destined  for  use  in  developing  power 
at  some  future  time. 

At  elevation  3,093,  113  feet  below  the  spillway,  ten  conduits 
similar  in  all  respects  to  those  above  mentioned  are  provided, 
making  twenty-five  outlets  in  all.  The  balanced  valves  above 
mentioned  are  58  inches  in  diameter  and  discharge  through  52- 
inch  conduits.  Each  consists  of  a  semi-steel  cylinder  closed  at 
the  outer  end,  in  which  slides  a  piston,  the  inner  end  of  which 
forms  a  needle  operating  to  regulate  the  amount  of  water  discharged 
and  closing  similar  to  a  check  valve.  This  piston  may  be  removed 
by  removing  the  cylinder  head.  It  is  kept  in  alignment  with 
tin-  axis  of  the  cylinder  by  bronze  guides. 


120  BOISE    PROJECT 

It  is  opened  and  closed  by  the  regulation  of  the  pressure  of 
water  tehind  the  main  pist'on,  the  pressure  being  supplied  by  the 
restricted  leak  past  the  piston,  and  relieved  by  a  drain  or  control 
pipe  leading  out  from  the  cylinder  head.  To  open  the  valve  the 
pressure  on  the  piston  is  reduced  by  opening  the  outlet  of  the 
control  pipe.  As  long  as  this  discharges  freely  the  valve  will 
continue  to  move  until  completely  open,  and  it  may  be  stopped 
at  any  point  partially  open  by  properly  regulating  the  leakage 
through  the  control  pipe.  To  close  the  valve,  the  outlet  from 
the  control  pipe  is  closed  and  pressure  applied  from  a  tank  far 
above  the  reservoir  to  start  the  piston,  after  which  it  will  slowly 
close  itself,  the  rate  of  movement  depending  on  the  volume  of 
leakage  around  the  piston. 

In  order  to  give  positive  and  accurate  regulation  of  discharge 
from  the  reservoir  a  positive  control  is  also  provided  as  shown 
in  the  drawing.  The  leakage  is  regulated  by  a  movable  sleeve 
fitting  over  a  conical  seat  which  stops  the  leakage  when  closed, 
and  when  opened  permits  the  escape  of  water  thus  removing  the 
pressure  from  that  side  of  the  piston,  causing  the  valve  to  open. 
The  valve  thus  follows  the  sleeve,  maintaining  just  enough  area 
between  the  sleeve  and  the  conical  seat  to  regulate  the  leakage  to 
the  quantity  required  for  balance.  The  sleeve  being  movable  at 
will,  by  means  of  a  hand-wheel,  rod,  and  screw,  the  position  of  the 
valve  can  be  accurately  controlled.  An  indicator  is  provided  to 
show  the  position  of  the  valve  at  any  time. 


CONSTRUCTION   OF   THE   ARROWROCK   DAM 

This  entire  work  was  done  by  Government  forces,  under 
specifications  as  carefully  drawn  as  for  contract  work. 

For  construction  purposes,  the  river  was  diverted  by  a  crib 
cofferdam  into  a  tunnel  driven  487  feet  through  the  rock  point 
forming  the  left  abutment,  This  tunnel  is  30  feet  wide  and  25 
feet  high,  its  arched  top  having  a  rise  of  10  feet.  The  bottom 
and  sides  were  lined  with  concrete  and  the  top  with  timber.  The 
entrance  and  exit  were  both  made  bell-shaped  to  avoid  loss  of 
head  and  give  the  tunnel  the  greatest  possible  discharge. 

For  the  sake  of  economy,  the  excavation  first  made  was  of  a 
width,  up-  and  down-stream,  only  sufficient  to  permit  the  construc- 
lon  of  one-half  the  base  of  the  dam,  and  the  up-stream  portion  of 
the  dam  was  constructed  on  a  gravity  section  to  a  height  about, 


*1     - 


122  BOISE   PROJECT 

40  feet  above  the  low-water  datum.  This  work  was  accomplished 
U-tween  flood  seasons,  which  would  not  have  been  possible  had 
the  entire  excavation  been  completed  before  concreting  began. 
By  this  means,  also,  it  was  possible  to  install  a  screening  and 
mixing  plant  in  the  pit  close  to  the  work  and  use  the  unexcavated 
<an«l  and  gravel  so  that  this  was  put  directly  into  the  work  without 
iH'ing  taken  out  of  the  pit.  The  completed  section  of  the  dam 
then  served  as  a  most  effective  cofferdam  to  prevent  flood  damage 
to  the  work,  and  to  prevent  seepage  from  the  up-stream  side  into 
the  pit  during  the  remainder  of  the  excavation  and  construction. 

Equipment. — Two  Lidgerwood  cables  of  1,500  feet  span,  with 
a  capacity  of  15  tons  each,  were  anchored  into  the  granite  moun- 
tain sides  and  supported  on  towers  in  such  a  position  as  to  com- 
mand the  entire  length  of  the  dam.  These  were  operated  by 
electric  engines,  and  were  employed  in  excavating  and  trans- 
j)orting  equipment  and  materials  for  construction.  Four  ten-ton 
derricks  were  installed,  as  well  as  several  smaller  ones.  A  drag- 
line excavator  with  a  2^-yard  bucket  was  used  also  in  excavating 
the  foundation,  from  which  225,000  cubic  yards  of  material  were 
removed.  Four  ten-ton  derricks  were  installed  as  well  as  several 
smaller  ones.  A  seventy-ton  steam-shovel  was  used  in  the  upper 
part  of  the  excavation,  especially  at  the  right  abutment,  and  was 
afterwards  employed  in  excavating  the  spillway. 

A  screening  and  crushing  plant  and  three  one-yard  mixers  were 
installed  on  the  bench  at  the  left  abutment. 

The  concrete  used  in  the  dam  was  composed  of  about  1  part 
sand-cement,  2^  parts  sand,  5%  parts  gravel  and  3  parts  cobbles 
passing  a  5J^-inch  grizzly,  with  a  somewhat  richer  mixture  at 
the  water  face  of  the  dam.  So  far  as  available  the  sand,  gravel 
and  cobbles  were  obtained  from  the  river-bed  excavation.  This 
was  sufficient  for  about  one-fourth  of  the  dam,  and  the  rest  was 
hauled  14  miles  by  rail  from  a  pit  above  the  Boise  Diversion  Dam, 
where  a  screening  and  crushing  plant  was  installed. 

The  concrete  was  placed  in  the  dam  mainly  by  the  pouring 
system. 

On  the  left  bank,  on  top  of  the  lava  bench,  was  installed  the 
concrete  mixing  plant,  consisting  of  three  independent  units,  each 
consisting  of  a  one-yard  mixer  served  from  appropriate  measuring 
boxes  and  bins,  and  discharging  into  a  two-yard  hopper,  the  gate 
of  which  was  operated  by  hand.  From  each  mixer  ran  a  two-yard 
trolley  dump  car  which  carried  the  concrete  to  a  distributing  tower 


ARROWROCK    DAM  123 

where  it  was  dumped  into  one  of  three  two-yard  cableway  buckets. 
These  buckets  dumped  automatically  through  radial  gates  into  a 
cableway  hopper  from  which  was  suspended  a  chute,  the  lower 
end  of  which  was  supported  from  auxiliary  cables,  and  which  may 
be  swung  around  a  complete  circle,  commanding  all  points  within 
a  radius  of  40  feet.  The  position  on  the  main  cable  of  the  cable- 
way  hopper  was  controlled  from  the  head  tower,  and  by  simply 
moving  this  along  the  cable  the  location  of  the  work  was  changed 
at  will. 

The  cement  used  in  the  dam  was  composed  of  standard  Port- 
land cement,  reground  at  Arrowrock  with  a  little  less  than  an 
equal  amount  of  granite  sand  to  a  fineness  such  that  90  per  cent 
would  pass  a  No.  200  standard  sieve. 

The  mill  for  this  purpose  consisted  of  a  rock  crusher,  a  pair 
of  sand  rolls,  a  ball  mill  and  four  tube  mills,  and  had  a  capacity  of 
2,000  barrels  in  twenty-four  hours.  After  grinding  the  sand- 
cement  was  carried  across  the  river  in  a  4-inch  pipe  by  compressed 
air.  Besides  the  rigid  fineness  test  above  noted,  the  sand-cement 
was  required  to  pass  all  the  standard  physical  tests  for  Portland 
cement,  and  not  a  single  case  occurred  where  the  sand-cement 
failed  to  meet  the  standard  requirements  for  strength  or  failed 
on  the  boiling  test.  Concrete  made  of  sand-cement  was  slower 
in  setting  and  in  hardening  than  that  made  from  the  straight 
Portland  cement  of  the  same  brand  as  that  used  in  making  the 
sand-cement. 

The  cost  of  the  mill  for  grinding  the  sand-cement  was  $50,000, 
distributed  about  as  follows: 

Excavation $  1,500 

Foundations : 4,000 

Erection  of  building,  chutes,  etc ...  8,500 

Equipment,  including  freight 

Installation  of  equipment 9,000 

Electrical  work 2,000 

$50,000 

The  cost  of  manufacturing  sand-cement  of  45  per  cent  sand  by 
weight  averaged  about  as  follows: 

Granite  delivered  to  crusher 

Portland  cement,  including  freight. . . 

Handling  and  storing  Portland  cement .  . 

Labor  operating  mill 

Current  for  power  and  lighting 

Supplies,  depreciation  and  repairs -15 

si  s:> 


124 


BOISE    PROJECT 


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126 


BOISE    PROJECT 


ARROWROCK    POWER   PLANT 


127 


Power-Plant.— With  the  exception  of  the  steam  shovel,  all  the 
machinery  about  the  plant  was  run  by  electric  power.  To  furnish 
this  a  plant  was  installed  at  the  diversion  dam  previously  described, 
between  the  fishway  and  the  head-gates  of  the  main  canal.  The 
power-plant  consists  of  three  units,  each  of  which  is  composed  of 
an  850-horse-power  turbine  water-wheel  directly  connected  to  a 
625-KVA  generator.  The  available  fall  is  about  30  feet.  The 
current  generated  is  three-phase,  60-cycle,  alternating  current  at 
2,300  volts  direct-connected  to  three-phase  transformers,  which 
step  the  current  up  to  22,000  volts,  at  which  it  is  transmitted 
to  Arrowrock  by  duplicate  lines  of  wires,  where  it  is  stepped  down 
to  440  volts  for  use  on  the  work.  The  motor  installation  is  about 
3,000  horse-power.  The  two  cableways  each  require  300  horse- 
power, the  sand-cement  plant  500,  and  air  compressor  125;  1,180 
horse-power  was  provided  for  pumping  four  75-horse-power 
derrick  motors,  and  a  number  of  smaller  motors  for  mixers,  rock 
crushers,  shop  machinery,  and  other  uses. 

The  canals  of  the  Boise  Project  serve  lands  lying  above  those 
previously  irrigated.  Most  of  them  are  rolling  bench  lands,  and 
although  some  bottom-lands  on  the  right  bank  of  Snake  River  are 
also  included,  these  are  generally  sandy  and  rough.  The  system 
for  distributing  irrigation  water  is,  therefore  complicated  and 
expensive,  requiring  tortuous  canals,  and  a  large  number  of 
drops,  chutes,  pressure  pipes,  etc.  These  are  generally  of  concrete 
for  the  sake  of  safety  and  permanency,  though  a  few  problems 
were  successfully  solved  by  means  of  steel  and  wood.  In  lowering 
the  water  from  the  bench  to  the  Snake  River  bottom  several 
drops  of  great  elevation  were  needed;  the  smaller  were  in  the 
form  of  pipes,  and  the  larger  were  open  chutes  with  the  following 

elements : 

CONCRETE  CHUTES  ON  BOISE  PROJECT 


No. 

Length 
Feet 

Drop 
Feet 

Second- 
Feet 

Volume 
Cu.  Yd. 

Cost 

Unit 
Cost 

I... 

2 

3 

430 
325 
358 

73 
42 
50 

130 
120 
100 

276 
121 
217 

$4,610 
2,190 
3,624 

$16.70 
18.10 
16.75 

4 

993 

79 

36 

283 

4,528 

16.00 

5 

150 

27 

36 

75 

1,575 

21.00 

The  chutes  are  located  at  points  where  the  necessary  fall  can 
be  compressed  into  the  shortest  practicable  distance.     They  are 


128  BOISE    PROJECT 

all  similar  in  design  and  consist  essentially  of  an  inlet  structure,  a 
trough  to  conduct  the  water  down  the  hill,  and  a  pool  at  the 
lx>ttom  to  receive  the  water  and  destroy  its  accumulated  energy. 
The  inlet  structure  forming  the  transition  is  provided  with  splayed 
wing  walls,  and  well  equipped  with  numerous  and  deep  cut-off  walls 
for  the  wing  walls,  floor,  and  sides  to  prevent  percolation  of  water 
along  the  structure.  At  the  lower  end,  where  the  water  enters 
the  trough,  it  is  provided  with  control  gates.  The  trough  con- 
verges to  a  narrow  channel  a  short  distance  below  the  gates,  to 
correspond  to  the  increased  velocity,  which  usually  reaches  about 
40  feet  per  second,  the  section  again  increasing  as  it  approaches 
the  pool  at  the  bottom.  Cut-off  walls  are  provided  under  the 
trough  at  frequent  intervals  to  prevent  erosion  by  leakage  or 
rain-water.  These  are  generally  one  foot  deep,  except  at  ex- 
pansion joints,  where  they  are  deeper.  The  floor  is  9  inches  thick 
and  the  sides  have  thicknesses  of  8  inches  at  top  and  from  9  to 
10  at  the  bottom,  being  2  feet  in  height. 

The  rolling,  irregular  character  of  much  of  the  country  to  be 
served  with  water  required  a  very  complicated  distribution 
system,  and  numerous  crossings  of  drainage  and  other  depressions 
were  necessary.  Where  the  depression  to  be  crossed  was  deep, 
and  where  excess  grade  was  available,  pressure  pipes  were  used, 
usually  of  concrete,  but  in  a  few  instances  of  wood. 

Where  the  depression  was  not  too  low  and  saving  of  grade 
was  desirable,  steel  flumes  were  installed  on  wooden  trestles  with 
concrete  footings.  Some  of  the  longer  and  more  important  of 
these  are  listed  in  the  table  on  page  130. 

Wages  of  foremen  were  from  $3.50  to  $4.00  per  day;  carpenters, 
$3.20  to  $3.50;  laborers,  $2.50;  teams,  $2.50. 

The  flumes  listed  were  all  of  galvanized  iron  carried  on  wooden 
trestles  built  of  red  fir  from  the  Pacific  Coast  and  founded  on  con- 
crete pedestals  from  2  to  3  feet  high. 

The  Forest  pressure  pipe  receives  water  from  a  canal  on  the 
Boise  Project  and  conducts  it  a  distance  of  8,575  feet  across  the 
valley  just  below  the  lower  Deer  Flat  embankment,  to  irrigate 
2,800  acres  of  land  near  Caldwell.  It  has  an  internal  diameter  of 
36  inches,  and  a  shell  thickness  of  3  inches.  Its  fall  is  45  feet, 
and  its  capacity  about  50  second-feet.  The  maximum  head  under 
which  it  operates  is  about  70  feet,  and  two-thirds  of  the  line 
carries  a  head  exceeding  60  feet. 


130 


BOISE    PROJECT 
FLUMES — CALDWELL  DIVISION,  BOISE,  IDAHO 


Name 

Size 
Inches 

Length 
Feet 

High- 
est 
Bent 
Feet 

Ca- 
pacity 
Sec.- 
Feet 

Haul 
Miles 
Lumber 
Cement 

Total 
Cost 

Unit 

Year 

Deer  Flat  N.... 
Knor          

108 
60 

1,600 
70 

10 

8 

40 
3 

9H 

$5,417 
201 

$3.38 

2.87 

1909 
1910 

Nordica  No.  1  .  . 
"        No.  2.. 
Stansell.. 
Aldrich  
Lizard  No.  1  ... 
"       No  2 

84 
60 
48 
36 
84 
60 

874 
864 
841 
1,270 
134 
112 

17.8 
7.5 
17 
22.8 
6.5 
7 

18 
6 
4 
3 
26 
10 

9 

15  * 
10 

7,995 
1,949 
2,173 
2,210 
659 
529 

3.43 
2.26 

2.58 
1.75 
4.92 
4.72 

1910 
1911 
1911 
1911 
1911 
1911 

Lemaster  
Mclntire  
Deer  Flat  low  1  . 
«        «      «   2 

48 
60 
132 

72 

300 
2,000 
112 
234 

7 
14 
5 
16.5 

5 
10 
106 
19 

14 
14 
21 

876 
5,245 
1,245 
1,195 

2.92 
2.62 
11.12 
5.11 

1911 
1911 
1911 
1911 

60 

1,950 

9 

7 

23 

4,128 

2.12 

1911 

«        u      a   4 

48 

520 

6.5 

4 

25 

1,142 

2.20 

1911 

Yarnell  
Mora        

72 
108 

4,892 
2,963 

27.8 
13.8 

17 
43 

15 
11 

12,810 
11,320 

2.62 
3.82 

1911 
1911 

Forest  
Rogers  
Plowhead  
Van  Tress  No.  1 
"     No.  2 

48 
60 
84 
60 

1,000 
50 
375 
3,340 
850 

18.8 
7.5 
9 
21.5 
9 

24 
3 
7 
32 
9 

11 
13 

3  2 

2,558 
263 
1,099 
7,549 
2,021 

2.55 
5.26 
2.93 
2.26 

2.27 

1911 
1911 
1912 
1912 
1912 

Farley  
Arena   

48 
132 

890 
120 

22 
16 

4 
65 

2^ 
5 

1,781 

827 

2.09 
6.89 

1912 
1912 

Chance  

84 

3,230 

21 

32 

7 

4,105 

1.27 

1912 

XAMPA  DIVISION 


Robinson  

60 

320 

22 

14 

3 

999 

3.12 

1909 

Bray  

84 

80 

8 

19 

2 

483 

6.04 

1909 

Ridenbaugh  .... 

144 

200 

42 

88 

1 

4,206 

21.03 

1910 

McCleneghan.  .  . 

48 

1,304 

7 

6 

4 

2,608 

2.00 

1910 

Barth  

108 

213 

7 

30 

5 

1,166 

5.47 

1910 

Riden,  H.  L.  .  .  . 

108 

275 

12 

27 

8 

1,477 

5.37 

1910 

Bernard  

192 

428 

25 

215 

11 

6,423 

14.98 

1911 

Pickl*  

192 

240 

16 

179 

11 

3,185 

13.28 

1911 

Waldvogel  No.  3 

84 

1,190 

25 

20 

7 

3,326 

2.78 

1912 

At  each  end  the  pipe  is  provided  with  a  reinforced-concrete 
weir-pool  and  weir.  Manholes  are  provided  at  intervals  of  about 
1,200  feet,  each  consisting  of  a  cast-iron  saddle,  with  10  by  15 
inches  opening,  with  cover  bolted  on.  Two  throttle  valves  are 
provided  for  the  purpose  of  controlling  the  flow  of  water  so  as 
to  make  it  act  under  full  head  at  any  stage  of  discharge.  There 
are  also  two  blow-off  valves  at  the  bottom  of  the  valley. 

The  pipe  is  built  in  sections  6  feet  in  length,  reinforced  with 


CONCRETE    PRESSURE    PIPE  131 

Vis  steel  wire  and  joined  by  concrete  collars,  3  inches  thick  and 
8%  inches  wide,  reinforced  in  two  directions. 

The  sections  of  pipe  were  manufactured  in  a  yard  centrally 
located,  where  facilities  for  first-class  work  were  provided,  and, 


FIG.  46. — Removing  Inside  Steel  Forms  from  Concrete  Pressure  Pipe,  Boise 
Project. 

after  curing,  were  on  the  advent  of  cool  weather  hauled  on  wagons 
and  placed  in  the  trench  with  portable  A-frame  derricks. 

The  trench  was  carefully  excavated  to  grade,  and  heavy  plank 
was  made  to  give  solid  and  uniform  bearing  for  the  tile.  A  crew 
could  lay  and  join  with  collars  from  60  to  70  of  these  tiles  per 
day.  Before  placing  the  tiles  the  ends  were  brushed  with  a  wire 
broom  to  remove  all  loose  particles.  They  were  carefully  fitted, 
and  the  joint  calked  from  the  inside  with  a  mortar  of  cement, 
sand  and  hydrated  lime  in  the  ratio  of  3:6:1.  As  soon  as  this 
had  set  the  forms  were  placed  for  the  collars,  and  these  were  poured 
of  wet  concrete,  carefully  worked  to  place  with  curved  rods. 
The  collars  were  of  one  part  cement  to  three  parts  sand  and  gravel 
passing  ^-inch  mesh.  The  calking  and  collars  were  kept  moist 


132  BOISE    PROJECT 

for  several  days,  and  finally  the  inside  was  coated  with  a  cement 
wash.  As  soon  as  the  setting  was  complete  the  trench  was  back- 
filled to  a  depth  of  about  1  foot  over  the  pipe,  and  the  pipe  was 
tested  with  water.  A  number  of  minute  leaks  appeared,  but  soon 
disappeared  by  running  the  water  slowly  through  the  pipe  laden 
with  sawdust,  no  repairs  being  required. 

The  following  table  of  costs  includes  all  overhead  and  other 
charges  of  every  nature: 


Cost  per  Foot 

Tiles  concrete  and  labor 

$1  13 

Reinforceiient 

85 

Collars 

38 

Placing  in  trench 

1  16 

Structures  at  ends 

31 

Plant  depreciation 

32 

General  expense 

35 

Total  cost  per  foot  of  pipe !         $4.50 


DRAINAGE   WORK 

Prior  to  the  passage  of  the  Reclamation  Act,  two  large  irriga- 
tion districts  were  organized  in  the  Boise  Valley,  called  the  Pioneer 
and  the  Nampa-Meridian  districts.  These  districts  had  provided 
some  water  for  irrigation,  but  a  large  part  of  their  lands  either 
had  no  water  at  all,  or  a  supply  of  flood  water  that  failed  in  July, 
leaving  the  lands  dry  in  the  late  summer  and  fall. 

Excessive  application  of  flood  waters  and  seepage  from  canals 
gradually  filled  the  subsoil  and  caused  the  rise  of  the  ground  water 
plane  in  the  lower  parts  of  the  districts,  so  that  the  advent  of  the 
Government  into  the  valley  found  these  lands  in  need  of  both 
irrigation  water  and  drainage. 

Accordingly  a  contract  was  executed  with  the  Pioneer  district, 
by  the  terms  of  which  the  Government  agreed  to  expend  a  sum 
not  exceeding  $350,000  in  the  construction  of  large  drainage  ditches, 
and  the  district  on  its  part  agreed  to  repay  this  amount  under  the 
terms  of  the  Reclamation  Laws,  and  also  engaged  to  assess  and 
collect  water-right  charges  from  all  the  lands  within  the  district 
needing  additional  water  supply.  The  drainage  work  described 
in  this  contract  was  performed  within  the  specified  cost  and  a 
large  balance  was  devoted  to  additional  drainage  work  described 


DRAINAGE 


133 


in  supplementary  contracts.  The  work  was  performed  with  two 
electric  drag-line  scrapers,  the  current  being  obtained  from  the 
local  hydro-electric  company.  The  high-tension  transmission 
lines  were  tapped  by  branches  built  to  the  vicinity  of  the  work, 


FIG.  47. — Manhole  and  Concrete  Collars  on  Concrete  Pressure  Pipe,  Boise 
Project. 

and  flexible  connection  made  by  means  of  insulated  armored 
cables  leading  to  a  small  transformer  on  runners,  which  was  moved 
with  the  excavator.  The  payment  for  current  was  1^  cents 
per  kilowatt-hour. 

COST  OF  DRAINAGE  TO  MAY  31,  1915,  PIONEER  DISTRICT 


Investigations  and  surveys 

Right  of  way 

General  expense 

Installation  and  operation  of  repair  shop 

Plant  and  equipment 

Installation  and  moving  equipment 

Electric  power 

Crossings  and  other  structures 

Operation  of  excavating  machines 


$    9,244 

5,081 

18,200 

7,408 

30,689 

3,510 

21,803 

51,264 

73,483 

$220,682 


134  BOISE    PROJECT 

Quantity  Cost 

Amount  excavated  in  cubic  yards 1,755,238  at  $0.08  per  cu.  yd. 

Length  of  drains  in  linear  feet 264,772  at      .52  per  lin.  ft. 

A  contract  has  been  made  with  the  Nampa-Meridian  District 
similar  to  the  one  with  the  Pioneer  District. 

In  the  southwestern  part  of  the  Boise  Valley,  the  open  sandy 
soil  has  led  to  excessive  application  of  irrigation  water  and  has 
also  caused  much  seepage  from  the  distribution  canals  and  laterals. 
The  seepage  waters  collect  on  the  lower  levels,  and  have  caused 
the  rise  of  ground  water  and  some  water  logging  of  parts  of  the 
Fargo  Basin. 

Drainage  work  has  accordingly  been  inaugurated  in  the  region 
affected,  and  about  $40,000  has  been  expended  upon  it. 

SUMMARY  OF  FEATURE  COSTS,  BOISE  PROJECT 

Preliminary  surveys,  borings,  etc $        62,520 

Arrowrock  Dam  and  outlet  works 5,073,407 

Power-plant  at  Boise  Diversion  Dam 240,000 

Railroad,  Barberton  to  Arrowrock 394,000 

Diversion  Dam  in  Boise  River 362,182 

Main  Canal  Boise  Dam  to  Deer  Flat  Reservoir.  .  1,650,887 

Distributing  system  from  Main  Canal 1,289,656 

Deer  Flat  Reservoir 966,200 

Distribution  system  from  Deer  Flat  Reservoir 983,207 

Drainage •  300,000 

Office  Building  in  Boise 21,749 

Penitentiary  Canal 22,849 

Farm  unit  surveys,  water  studies,  etc 67,306 

Telephone  system 34,378 

Operation  and  maintenance 525,231 


Total $11,993,572 

The  Deer  Flat  Embankments  and  Boise  Diversion  Dam  were 
constructed  by  Mr.  F.  C.  Horn,  under  the  general  direction  of 
D.  W.  Ross,  as  Supervising  Engineer.  F.  W.  Hanna  later 
designed  and  built  the  distribution  system  with  its  numerous 
structures,  and  Chas.  H.  Paul  built  the  Arrowrock  Dam  under 
the  general  direction  of  F.  E.  Weymouth  as  Supervising 
Engineer.  A.  J.  Wiley  has  been  Consulting  Engineer  from  the 
first. 


CHAPTER  VIII 
MINIDOKA  PROJECT 

GENERAL   OUTLINE 

The  waters  of  Snake  River  are  diverted  about  6  miles  south 
of  the  town  of  Minidoka  by  means  of  a  dam  which  serves  also  for 
storage  and  power  development.  About  70,000  acres  are  irrigated 
by  gravity,  mainly  on  the  north  side  of  the  river,  and  a  few  small 
tracts  interspersed  among  the  gravity  lands  are  served  by  small 
pumping  plants  raising  water  from  the  gravity  canals.  The 
south  side  canal  irrigates  about  1,200  acres  by  gravity,  and  supplies 
three  large  pumping  plants  which  raise  water  to  48,000  acres  of 
land,  an  average  lift  of  64  feet. 

The  water  supply  is  derived  from  Snake  River,  the  low  water 
flow  of  which  was  previously  appropriated.  Storage  is  provided 
in  Jackson  Lake,  Wyoming,  on  the  south  fork  of  Snake  River, 
where  the  winter  waters  and  the  surplus  flood  flow  of  May  and 
June  are  held  for  use  in  late  summer  and  autumn. 

More  than  200,000  acres  of  land  are  irrigated  from  Snake 
River,  a  short  distance  below  the  project,  and  it  is  necessary  that 
the  water  used  there  shall  pass  the  Minidoka  Dam.  All  this  water 
is  therefore  available  for  the  development  of  power  under  the 
head  available  at  the  dam,  an  average  of  over  40  feet.  About 
10,000  horse-power  has  been  there  developed,  most  of  which  is 
used  for  irrigation  pumping,  but  the  towns  of  Rupert,  Hey  burn 
and  Burley  are  provided  with  current  for  light,  heat  and  power. 

MINIDOKA   DAM 

The  Minidoka  Dam  is  a  combination  of  rockfill  backed  with 
earth  on  the  water  side  built  in  the  canyon  of  the  river,  and  con- 
tinued on  the  basalt  mesa  to  the  south,  in  the  form  of  a  concrete 
weir,  which  serves  as  a  spillway.  The  weir  is  provided  with  a 
movable  crest,  consisting  of  a  series  of  buttresses  against  which 
are  placed  flash-boards  to  store  flood  waters  for  irrigation.  Before 
135 


\ 


MINIDOKA    DAM  137 

the  height  of  the  flood  season  in  early  June  the  flash-boards  are 
removed  to  allow  the  floods  to  pass  over  the  weir,  and  as  the  flow 
subsides  they  are  replaced  in  order  to  hold  and  store  as  much  of 
the  surplus  water  as  may  be.  The  available  storage  capacity 
above  level  necessary  for  diversion  purposes  is  about  54,000  acre- 
.  feet,  and  the  area  of  the  lake  at  full  capacity  is  11,350  acres. 

The  dam  and  head-works  connected  therewith  were  built  by 
contract  in  1906  and  1907.  The  contract  included  a  portion  of 
the  North  Canal  in  rock  section. 

For  handling  the  rock,  two  aerial  cableways  were  provided,  each 
having  a  span  of  1,150  feet  with  capacity  of  seven  tons.  The 
towers  were  81  feet  high,  and  were  mounted  on  trucks  which 
moved  on  tracks  normal  to  the  axis  of  the  dam.  These  cableways 
handled  steel  skips  with  capacity  of  3  cubic  yards.  The  rock  not 
within  reach  of  them,  it  was  hauled  to  them  on  tramways  for 
distances  up  to  900  feet.  The  rock  was  required  to  be  dropped 
from  20  to  60  feet  into  the  dam  in  order  to  consolidate  it,  so  that 
it  forms  a  very  compact  mass. 

A  channel  was  cut  through  the  basalt  rock  on  the  north  side 
of  the  river,  through  which  to  divert  the  river  during  construc- 
tion, and  was  provided  with  a  bulkhead  of  concrete  containing 
six  rectangular  openings,.  8  X  12  feet,  equipped  with  cast-iron 
gates.  Through  these  openings  the  low  water  flow  of  the  river 
passed  during  construction,  and  by  closing  the  gates  after  the 
completion  of  the  dam  the  water  was  raised  into  the  canals  38 
feet  above  the  river-bed  and  the  surplus  forced  over  the  spillway. 
The  rock  taken  from  the  diversion  channel  was  deposited  in  the 
dam  by  means  of  the  cableways,  to  form  first  a  cofferdam  and 
finally  to  become  the  rockfill  portion  of  the  permanent  dam. 

The  earthfill  was  composed  chiefly  of  sand  and  gravel,  with 
selected  material  containing  clay  for  the  water  slope,  which  was 
protected  by  riprap  of  basalt  rock. 

The  earth  was  obtained  mainly  on  the  south  side  of  the  river 
within  1,500  feet  of  the  dam,  and  was  hauled  in  tram-cars  by  horses, 
and  dumped  from  the  rockfill  into  water,  the  rock  being  first 
partially  closed  with  small  rock  and  gravel. 

A  concrete  corewall  was  built  on  bed-rock  entirely  across  the 
river,  and  brought  from  5  to  13  feet  up  into  the  fill  at  the  up-stream 
toe  of  the  rockfill,  forming  a  water-tight  junction  between  the 
earth  and  bed-rock. 


138 


MINIDOKA    PROJECT 


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140  MINIDOKA   PROJECT 

In  the  spillway  to  the  south  of  the  dam  were  built  a  set  of  gates 
to  permit  the  passage  down -stream  of  the  large  quantity  of  water 
necessary  for  the  irrigation  of  the  north  and  south  side  Twin  Falls 
Projects. 

There  are  four  radial  gates  built  of  steel  on  radii  of  15  feet 
3  inches,  closing  openings  12  feet  high.  Each  gate  has  six  radial 
spokes,  three  on  each  side,  connected  transversely  by  12-inch 
channels.  On  the  outside  of  these  channels  are  riveted  a  number 
of  9-inch  channels  and  I  beams,  curved  to  the  radius  of  the  gate, 
and  spaced  about  2^-feet  centers.  These  curved  members  are 
covered  with  timber  lagging  bolted  to  the  steel. 

The  gates  revolve  on  6-inch  steel  shafts,  each  shaft  carrying 
half  of  two  adjacent  gates.  Each  gate  therefore  revolves  on 
two  shafts.  The  gates  are  anchored  to  and  supported  by  concrete 
piers  which  separate  adjacent  gates,  and  are  3  feet  thick  and  20 
feet  high,  its  back  being  stepped  on  a  slope  of  1  to  1.  The  front 
is  shod  with  a  6  X  6-inch  angle,  anchored  to  the  concrete,  and  has 
a  batter  of  1  to  12. 

The  gates  close  on  timber  sills  and  the  top  and  sides  are  sealed 
by  rubber  belting.  They  are  operated  by  electric  hoists.  With 
the  water  in  Lake  Walcott  standing  at  the  lip  of  the  spillway,  these 
gates  have  a  discharge  capacity  of  about  5,000  cubic  feet  per 
second. 

STORAGE  SYSTEM 

Lake  Walcott  is  controlled  within  limits  of  about  6  feet  of 
elevation,  and  this  makes  an  available  storage  capacity  of  about 
75,000  acre-feet,  conveniently  located  at  the  head  of  both  canals. 
To  complete  the  storage  system,  a  reservoir  has  been  provided 
at  Jackson  Lake,  on  the  Lfpper  Water-shed  of  the  South  Fork 
of  Snake  River,  where  a  controllable  capacity  of  380,000  acre- 
feet  has  been  provided.  The  lake  is  very  large,  and  the  above 
capacity  is  obtained  by  raising  the  water  only  about  17 
feet.  The  dam  consists  of  a  concrete  sill  and  apron  in  the  river 
channel  surmounted  by  a  series  of  19  cast-iron  gates  between 
concrete  abutments,  and  a  long,  low  gravel  dike  connecting  with 
high  ground  on  each  side.  This  reservoir  has  recently  been 
enlarged  to  provide  storage  for  the  Twin  Falls  Projects. 


POWER    SYSTEM 


THE    HYDRO-ELECTRIC    SYSTEM    OF   THE   MINIDOKA   PROJECT 

The  hydro-electric  system  consists  of  a  power  development 
at  Minidoka  Dam  having  a  capacity  of  10,000  horse-power, 
31  miles  of  33,000-volt,  three-phase  transmission  line  and  three 
pumping  stations  where  the  power  is  used  in  raising  water  for  the 
irrigation  of  nearly  48,000  acres  of  land.  Power  for  general  pur- 
poses is  also  supplied  to  the  towns  on  the  project. 

Power-house. — The  power-house  building  is  of  reinforced  con- 
crete, 149  feet  long  and  50  feet  wide,  and  is  built  against  the 
down-stream  side  of  the  concrete  bulkhead  in  the  diversion  channel 
which  had  been  cut  through  the  rock  for  diverting  the  river 
during  the  construction  of  the  dam.  The  up-stream  wall  is  19 
feet  above  the  top  of  the  dam  while  the  gables  rise  95  feet  above 
the  bottom  of  the  tail-race.  The  plant  has  been  built  with  the 
idea  of  extending  the  building  by  running  a  wing  from  the  north 
end  at  right  angles  to  the  present  building,  making  it  convenient 
to  increase  the  capacity  of  the  plant. 

The  buttresses  of  the  concrete  bulkhead  are  built  on  18-foot 
centers,  forming  bays,  in  each  of  which  is  a  10-foot  penstock  open- 
ing. Five  of  these  bays  are  utilized  for  the  installation  of  the  five 
2,000-horse-power  units  of  the  present  equipment,  another  bay 
contains  the  two  exciter  units  and  the  two  remaining  bays  in- 
cluded in  the  power-house  will  be  required  in  case  of  future 
extensions. 

Main  Units. — Each  of  the  main  units  consists  of  a  2,000-horse- 
power  vertical  turbine  direct-connected  to  a  1,500-kilovolt-ampere 
alternator,  designed  to  deliver  three-phase,  60-cycle  current  at 
2,300  volts.  The  turbines  are  of  the  vertical  inward-flow  axial- 
discharge  type  with  52^-inch  runners  operating  under  a  normal 
gross  head  of  46  feet  at  a  speed  of  200  r.p.m.  with  a  rated  capacity 
of  2,000  horse-power.  Each  wheel  receives  its  water  from  a 
10-foot  feeder,  connecting  with  the  corresponding  penstock  opening 
in  the  concrete  dam  and  discharges  through  a  curved  draft  tube 
into  the  tail-race.  Admission  of  water  to  the  runner  is  regulated 
by  pivot  gates  under  control  of  the  governor  and  a  motor-con- 
trolled sliding  gate  at  the  head  of  the  feeder  serves  to  cut  the 
water  out  when  the  turbine  is  not  in  use.  The  turbines  are 
placed  on  the  lowest  floor  of  the  power-house,  the  center  line 


142  MINIDOKA    PROJECT 

of  the  runners  being  16  feet  above  normal  surface  of  the  water 
in  the  tail-race. 

The  generators  are  located  on  the  main  floor  of  the  plant. 
They  generate  three-phase  current  at  2,300  volts  and  60  cycles. 
The  rotating  element  of  the  entire  unit  is  suspended  from  a  thrust 
tearing  located  on  top  of  the  generator.  This  bearing  consists 
of  two  simple  collars  running  in  a  water-cooled  oil  bath  without 
pressure. 

Each  generator  is  provided  with  a  governor  which  gets  its 
oil  pressure  from  a  central  oil  system  which  is  provided  with 
a  duplicate  outfit  of  motor-driven  gear  oil  pumps  and  pressure 
tanks. 

Exciters. — Two  exciters  of  120-kilowatt  rated  capacity  direct 
connected  to  turbines  of  180  horse-power  furnish  125-volt  exciting 
current  for  the  main  generators.  These  units  are  each  of  sufficient 
capacity  to  excite  all  the  five  generators  besides  furnishing  power 
for  oil  pumps.  These  units  are  also  provided  writh  oil  pressure 
governors,  and  each  has  its  individual  governor  system. 

Transformers. — Each  generator  is  provided  with  a  three-phase 
air-blast  transformer  of  1,500-kilovolt-ampere  capacity  connected 
to  the  generator  terminals  by  disconnecting  switches,  so  that 
each  generator  and  its  transformer  forms  a  unit  receiving  2,300- 
volt  current  and  delivering  33,000-volt  current  to  the  high-tension 
bus.  The  transformers  are  located  in  a  gallery  at  the  side  of  the 
generator  room  against  the  bulkhead. 

A  20-ton  Niles  travelling  crane  runs  the  entire  length  of  the 
generator  floor  within  reach  of  all  heavy  apparatus. 

Wiring  Scheme. — All  switching  on  the  high-tension  side  of  the 
transformers  is  accomplished  by  means  of  remote  control  oil 
circuit-breakers.  A  double  33,000-volt  bus  runs  the  entire  length 
of  the  building  above  the  transformer  gallery  and  at  the  north 
end  runs  down  through  concrete  compartments  to  the  outgoing  line 
switches  on  the  generator  floor. 

From  the  line  switches  the  circuit  runs  back  through  concrete 
ducts  and  up  the  north  wall  to  the  outlets.  Aluminum  cell 
electrolytic  lightning  arresters  are  placed  on  a  gallery  above  the 
switchboard  at  the  north  end  of  the  plant  where  the  lines  leave 
the  station.  Switches  and  outlets  have  been  provided  for  both 
outgoing  lines. 

Switchboard.— The    plant   is   controlled   from   a   switchboard 


PUMPING   PLANT  143 

located  on  an  extension  of  the  transformer  gallery  across  the 
north  end  of  the  plant.  This  switchboard  contains  a  panel  for 
each  generating  unit  and  line,  and  one  panel  for  the  two  exciters. 
All  of  the  high-tension  oil  switches  are  controlled  from  this  point 
and  each  generator  panel  is  provided  with  devices  for  controlling 
the  speed  and  voltage  of  the  main  units. 

Panels  and  controllers  for  the  penstock  gates  are  placed  on  the 
generator  floor  near  their  respective  units,  and  these  controllers 
are  to  be  used  also  for  raising  and  lowering  the  sluicing  gates 
which  form  a  part  of  the  original  structure  and  are  used  to  control 
the  stored  water  in  Lake  Walcott  at  low  stages  of  the  river. 

Transmission  Line. — The  transmission  system  comprises  38.4 
miles  of  33, 000- volt  line,  which  consists  of  a  single  circuit  of  copper 
wire  run  on  wooden  poles  spaced  approximately  150  feet  apart, 
except  the  river  crossings,  which  are  on  steel.  The  main  line 
runs  southwest  from  the  dam,  following  the  general  direction  of 
the  main  north  side  gravity  canal  and  the  Minidoka  &  South- 
western Railroad,  to  the  Heyburn  substation,  a  distance  of  19 
miles.  From  a  point  10  miles  from  the  dam  a  branch  runs  due 
south  to  pumping  station  No.  1,  crossing  the  Snake  River  in  a 
1,150-foot  span  supported  by  steel  towers.  The  poles  on  this 
part  of  the  line  are  spaced  250  feet  apart. 

The  second  transmission  line  crosses  the  river  near  the  dam 
and  runs  directly  to  the  second  pumping  station,  a  distance  of 
11  miles. 

PUMPING   STATIONS 

At  the  lower  end  of  the  south  side  gravity  canal  is  located  the 
first  pumping  plant,  having  a  capacity  of  about  715  second-feet. 
A  portion  of  this  715  second-feet  is  diverted  for  use  in  the  "G" 
canal,  which  supplies  an  area  of  about  10,000  acres,  while  the 
remainder  is  elevated  a  second  time  at  station  No.  2.  This  station 
has  a  capacity  of  640  second-feet.  A  portion  of  this  water  is 
diverted  for  use  under  the  "H"  canal,  irrigating  about  15,000 
acres,  while  the  remainder  is  again  lifted  at  pumping  station 
No.  3.  This  plant  has  a  capacity  of  395  second-feet  and  delivers 
water  to  the  "J"  canal,  which  supplies  about  23,000  acres  of 
land. 

The  lift  at  each  station  is  about  31  feet,  the  average  lift  being 

about  64  feet. 


144  MINIDOKA    PROJECT 

The  stations  are  of  the  same  general  design  and  a  description 
of  the  first  will  in  general  apply  to  all.  All  the  buildings  are  of 
reinforced  concrete  with  roofs  of  the  same  material.  The  first  is 
140  feet  long  by  30  feet  wide  and  45  feet  high.  At  the  first  station 
there  are  four  160-second-feet  units  and  one  75-second-feet.  Each 
pump  is  located  in  an  independent  concrete  chamber  17  feet  by 
16  feet,  protected  by  steel  trash  racks  and  steel  gages.  The 
purnps  are  of  the  vertical  shaft  tj^pe  with  both  top  and  bottom 
suction.  The  impeller  is  44  inches  in  diameter.  When  starting 
a  unit  the  pit-gates  are  closed  and  the  pit  is  pumped  out,  thus 
reducing  the  power  required  from  the  motors.  When  operating, 
the  pump  is  submerged  in  the  water.  The  discharge  is  controlled 
by  means  of  a  cylinder-gate  between  the  impeller  and  the  diffusion 
vanes.  The  unit  operates  at  300  r.p.m.  The  discharge  of  the 
pump  is  48  inches  in  diameter,  giving  a  discharge  velocity  of 
10.4  feet  per  second  at  rated  capacity.  The  casing  of  the  pump 
is  of  cast  iron.  The  vanes  of  the  impeller  are  of  steel  plate  with 
cast-iron  shroud  rings.  The  pumps  discharge  through  a  tapered 
casting  into  a  reinforced-concrete  pressure  pipe,  5  feet  6  inches 
in  diameter.  At  the  discharge  end  each  pipe  is  closed  by  a  steel 
plate  flap  valve,  which  floats  on  the  water  when  the  pump  is 
operating.  The  motive  power  for  the  pumping  unit  is  furnished 
by  a  600-horse-power,  three-phase,  synchronous  motor,  wound  for 
2,200  volts.  When  the  units  were  first  installed,  it  was  deemed 
inadvisable  to  have  these  large  pumps  started  at  short  intervals, 
as  it  was  believed  that  the  wave  going  down  the  canals  would 
cause  serious  washing  of  the  banks.  Accordingly,  a  small  one- 
second-foot  pump  was  provided  for  emptying  the  pits.  It  took 
this  pump  about  40  minutes  to  empty  a  single  pit,  thus  interposing 
a  minimum  interval  of  this  amount  between  the  starting  of  the 
pumps. 

After  the  plants  were  operating,  however,  it  was  found  that 
most  of  the  interruptions  in  the  power  service  were  of  momentary 
character  and  that  the  quicker  the  pumps  could  be  gotten  back 
on  to  the  line,  the  more  satisfactory  the  operation  would  be. 
In  order  to  arrange  for  getting  the  pumps  back  on  to  the  line 
in  rapid  succession,  a  discharge  pipe  with  a  valve  has  been  fitted 
to  the  manhole  of  the  pump  and  the  pump  is  made  to  pump  out 
its  own  pit.  Under  this  arrangement,  before  a  unit  is  started  this 
valve  is  opened.  Then  the  unit  is  started  as  before  and  the  pit 


PUMPING   PLANT  145 

is  pumped  out  with  the  pump  running  at  slow  speed,  the  water 
being  discharged  into  the  forebay.  As  soon  as  the  water  level 
reaches  the  right  stage,  the  unit  speeds  up  and  can  be  synchronized. 
This  process  requires  only  two  minutes  from  the  time  the  pump 
is  started  until  it  can  be  thrown  on  to  the  line  ready  for  opening 
the  pit-gates  to  begin  pumping.  The  actual  interval  between  the 
starting  of  successive  pumps  is  about  ten  minutes,  with  one  opera- 
tor to  perform  all  the  work. 

The  transmission  lines  come  into  this  pumping  station  through 
disconnecting  switches  to  a  single  set  of  30,000-volt  bus-bars. 
From  these  bus-bars  the  current  is  carried  through  disconnecting 
and  oil  switches  to  five  500-kilowatt  air-blast  transformers  which 
step  the  voltage  down  from  30,000  to  2,200  volts.  These  feed  a 
common  2,200-volt  set  of  bus-bars. 

All  heavy  apparatus  is  under  a  10-ton  Niles  crane  which  runs 
the  entire  length  of  the  building. 

Current  is  supplied  to  the  motors  by  air-blast  transformers,  one 
590-kilovolt-ampere  transformer  being  provided  for  each  pump. 
These  transformers  receive  current  at  30,000  volts  from  the  high- 
tension  bus  and  deliver  it  to  the  low-tension  bus  at  2,200  volts. 

The  wiring  is  so  arranged  that  any  one  or  all  the  transformers 
may  be  used  with  any  motor. 

Two  induction  motor-driven  exciters,  either  of  which  is  of 
sufficient  capacity  to  excite  all  of  the  motors,  are  conveniently 
located  close  to  the  switchboard. 

Aluminum-cell  lightning  arresters  are  provided  for  the  pro- 
tection of  the  station  apparatus. 

The  switchboard,  transformers  and  auxiliary  apparatus  are 
placed  in  one  end  of  the  building  on  a  floor  raised  sufficiently  to 
command  a  view  of  the  entire  motor  end  of  the  plant.  The  switch- 
board contains  one  panel  for  each  motor  and  one  for  the  two 
exciters,  besides  panels  for  the  auxiliary  apparatus. 

All  of  the  2,200-volt  switches  are  mechanically  operated  from 
this  board,  while  the  30,000-volt  switches  which  connect  the  trans- 
formers to  the  bus  are  placed  near  their  respective  transformers 
and  each  mechanically  operated  from  a  separate  panel.  There  is 
a  single  high-tension  bus  and  a  single  low-tension  bus. 

Low-lift  Pumping. — A  few  small  tracts  occur  in  the  project 
where  it  is  necessary  to  lift  the  water  from  3  to  5  feet  to  cover 
a  few  hundred  acres.  This  is  accomplished  with  scoop  wheels 


146  MltflDOKA   PROJECT 

operated  by  electric  power,  and  an  efficiency  of  pumps  averaging 
about  60  per  cent  is  attained. 

COMMERCIAL   POWER   SUBSTATIONS 

Provision  has  been  made  for  supplying  power  to  distributing 
companies  in  Rupert,  Heyburn  and  Burley.     A  transformer  sta- 


FIG.  50.— Scoop  Wheel,  Lifting  Water  3^  feet,  60  per  cent  Efficient. 


tion  at  Rupert  will  supply  that  town,  and  one  on  the  Snake  River 
near  Heyburn  will  supply  both  Heyburn  and  Burley.  These 
two  substations  are  identical  in  design  and  are  reinforced-concrete 
structures,  approximately  20  by  30  feet  in  plan. 

The  stations  are  designed  to  receive  power  at  30,000  volts  and 
deliver  it  to  local  distributing  circuits  at  2,200  volts.  Each  sta- 
tion is  equipped  with  oil-cooled  transformers  protected  by  expulsion 
fuses.  A  switchboard  panel  controls  the  circuit  for  each  town 
and  lightning  arresters  are  provided  for  both  high-  and  low-tension 
circuits. 


PUMPING    PLANT 
ORIGINAL  COST  OF  PUMPING  STATIONS 


147 


No.  1 

No.  2 

No.  3 

$2,100 

$5  300 

$2  000 

Building  

35,000 

40,000 

19,500 

Hydraulic  machinery  

27,200 

23,000 

16^00 

Electrical  machinery  
Freight  and  hauling  
Erection  
Camp  and  permanent  quarters 

44,700 
10,300 
15,800 
4,000 

42,800 
9,600 
14,600 
11  000 

17,300 
5,500 
9,300 
500 

Engineering  and  incidentals 

5000 

3  000 

2000 

\dministration  charges  etc 

8500 

7  000 

5500 

Total  

$152,600 

$156,300 

$77,800 

Capacity  —  second-feet  

575 

500 

325 

Cost  per  second-feet  capacity  
Pressure    pipes    including    administration 
charges  

$265.40 
21,400 

$312.60 
16,500 

$239.40 
20,200 

Total  length  of  pressure  pipes  —  feet  
Cost  per  foot  

894 
$23.90 

540 
$30.30 

825 
$24.50 

Cost  per  second-foot   capacity,  including 
pressure  pipes  

Average  

303.00 

346.00 
..$318.00 

301.00 

The  efficiency  of  the  apparatus  is  shown  in  the  following 
tables : 


Full  Load 
Efficiencies 

Net  Efficiency 
from  Water 
Behind  the  Dam 

Turbines                                                            ....         81.5 

81.5 

78.2 

Step-up  transformers  98  .  4 
Transmission  line  ! 

77.0 
69.3 
67.9 

Motors                                          94.0 

63.8 

Pumps                                          72.5 

46.3 

COST   OF    MlNIDOKA   ELECTRIC   PUMPING    SYSTEM 

..". $    484,427.69 

9,023.34 

495,591.61 


Power  plant  and  accessories .  . 
Office,  shop  and  storehouse .  .  . 
South  side  pumping  stations. . 


Gravity  unit  pumping  stations. . 

Transmission  lines 

Substations . .  . 


21,954.14 
74,226.56 
43,149.22 


Telephone  system 29,082.07 


Total 


$1,157,454.63 


148  MINIDOKA    PROJECT 

OPERATION  AND  MAINTENANCE  OF  POWER  AND  PUMPING  SYSTEMS 


Power- 
House 

Trans- 
mis- 
sion 
Line 

PUMPING  STATIONS 

Total 

No.  1 

No.  2 

No.  3 

5,700       700 
950!      100 
900J      600 
300|      100 
1,7001      200 
450         50 

2,100 
200 
600 
100 
700 
150 

2,100 
200 
600 
100 
700 
150 

2,100 
150 
400 
80 
500 
100 

Supplies  and  material  
Superintendence,  clerical,  camp,  etc. 
General  expense  and  administration.. 

10,000 

$0.208 
21,700 
31,700 

$0.660 

1,750 

$0.037 
3,400 
5,150 

$0.108 

3,850 

$0.081 
7,600 
11,450 

$0.239 

3,850 

$0.081 
7,800 
11,650 

$0.243 

3,330 

$0.068 
3,900 
7,180 

$0.150 

22,730 

$0.475 
44,400 
67,130 

$1.40 

Operating  expense  per  acre  (48,000 
acres)  
Depreciation  
Total  
Annual  cost  per  acre,  including  de- 
preciation   

SUMMARY  OF  INSTALLATION  COSTS 

Power-house  and  accessories 

Transmission  line 

Pumping  stations  with  pressure  pipes 

Total  investment  on  power  system 

Investment  per  acre  (48,000  acres) 


SUMMARY  OF  ANNUAL  CHARGES 


Operation 

Depreciation .... 


Total 

Per  acre  (48,000  acres) 


$433,300 
34,000 

444,800 

$912,100 
$19.00 


$  22,730 
44,400 

$67,130 
$1.40 


CANAL   SYSTEM 

Gravity  System.— The  north  side  canal  system  on  the  Minidoka 
Project  is  rather  unique  in  respect  to  the  topography  of  the  irri- 
gated lands  it  serves.  These  lands  have  some  local  irregularities, 
but  the  tract  as  a  whole  is  so  flat  as  to  present  unusual  difficulties 
to  gravity  irrigation.  In  order  to  provide  the  necessary  slope 
to  induce  the  irrigation  water  to  flow  out  over  the  lands,  it  was 
necessary,  first,  to  raise  the  water  of  the  Snake  River  into  the 
canals  by  means  of  a  high  diversion  dam;  second,  to  select  the 
highest  ridges  available  for  locating  the  canals,  and  third,  to 


CANAL   SYSTEM  149 

build  the  major  portion  of  the  canal  system  above  ground  between 
dikes  built  from  borrow  pits  located  outside  the  canal  section. 

There  is  so  little  slope  to  the  valley  tHat  it  was  necessary  to 
build  the  canals  with  a  slope  of  only  .0002,  nor  could  any  greater 
slope  be  given  even  to  the  laterals,  which  in  consequence  have  a 
very  low  velocity  and  give  some  trouble  in  growing  aquatic 
plants. 

A  large  part  of  the  irrigated  land  is  sandy  and  in  places  under- 
laid by  a  coarse  sandy  subsoil.  It  is  difficult  to  irrigate,  without 
the  use  of  an  excessive  quantity  of  water,  on  account  of  the 
losses  into  the  subsoil.  This  has  led  to  the  deliberate  application 
of  a  sufficient  quantity  of  water  to  completely  fill  the  subsoil  and 
thus  subirrigate  the  crops,  or,  as  locally  expressed,  "bring  up  the 
sub."  Some  areas  have  applied  20  feet  in  depth  in  a  single 
season. 

This  practice  is  not  only  very  wasteful  of  water  but  tends 
to  leach  the  plant  food  from  the  soil  and  ruins  other  lands  by 
bringing  the  ground  water  to  the  surface  and  killing  vegetation. 
Considerable  areas  were  actually  submerged  until  relieved  by 
drainage  ditches.  The  North  Side  Minidoka  Project  has  thus  been 
the  location  of  the  most  extensive  drainage  works  yet  built  by  the 
Reclamation  Service.  These  are  described  elsewhere. 

The  sandy  soil  composing  the  canal  bottoms  and  banks  has 
played  an  important  part  in  adding  to  the  ground  water,  and  the 
losses  from  the  canals,  as  well  as  the  excessive  demands,  were 
found  to  tax  the  canal  system  to  its  utmost  capacity  when  only 
about  two-thirds  of  the  land  was  irrigated. 

Snake  River  usually  carries  clear  water,  and  Lake  Walcott 
serves  as  a  settling  basin  for  such  silt  as  the  occasional  floods  may 
carry,  so  that  only  clear  water  enters  the  canals,  and  thus  there 
is  no  tendency  to  stop  seepage  from  canals  by  silting.  In  order 
to  reduce  the  canal  seepage  losses,  a  process  of  silting  was  re- 
sorted to,  described  hereafter,  page  152. 

Protection  of  Canal  Banks  Against  Erosion. — In  very  sandy 
regions  the  banks  of  the  canals  are  subject  to  wind  erosion,  some- 
times to  a  disastrous  extent.  Small  farm  laterals  cleaned  out 
in  the  spring  have  sometimes  been  obliterated  by  severe  winds, 
and  considerable  damage  is  often  done  to  larger  canals.  Light 
soils  are  often  seriously  eroded  by  wave  action,  which  occurs 
when  high  winds  prevail. 


150  MINIDOKA   PROJECT 

The  former  trouble  is  sometimes  remedied  by  blanketing  the 
sandy  banks  with  gravel  or  clay  and  by  seeding  them  to  rye,  blue- 
grass,  clover,  or  other  vegetation.  There  is,  however,  a  tendency 
for  seed  to  blow  away  and  it  is  difficult  to  get  vegetation  started 
under  such  conditions. 

The  erosion  of  canal  banks  by  currents  and  wave  action  has 
been  combated  in  several  ways.  Rock  riprap  has  been  much 
used,  but  is  always  costly  and  is  not  efficient  unless  laid  in  a  very 
expensive  manner.  Unless  the  riprap  is  started  below  the  canal 
bottom  and  the  joints  well  plastered,  it  soon  fails  in  sandy  soil 
by  the  washing  out  of  the  sand  between  the  cracks.  Brush  of 
any  kind,  weeds  and  grass  will  do  temporarily,  but  the  latter  are 
good  for  but  one  season.  Sage-brush  is  especially  adapted  to  this 
purpose,  being  bushy,  flexible,  durable,  and  tough. 

The  method  extensively  used  on  the  Minidoka  Project  is  to 
plow  a  deep  furrow  in  the  bank  about  a  foot  below  where  the 
damage  is  likely  to  occur  and  smooth  this  out  with  a  small  V-shaped 
scraper  which  leaves  a  terrace  about  2^  feet  wide.  On  this  a 
layer  of  brush  is  placed  with  butts  to  the  bank  and  tops  sloping 
toward  the  water  down-stream  at  30  or  40  degrees,  the  tops  being 
kept  in  careful  alignment.  After  the  first  row  has  been  laid, 
another  furrow  is  plowed  higher  up  the  bank  and  smoothed  out 
with  a  scraper,  pushing  the  dirt  over  the  first  layer  and  effectively 
binding  it  without  the  use  of  stakes.  This  process  is  repeated 
until  the  riprap  is  a  foot  above  the  maximum  water  surface. 
When  finished,  the  tops  of  the  brush  should  extend  8  inches 
beyond  the  earth  they  are  buried  in,  but  must  not  encroach  upon 
the  original  canal  section. 

The  distance  vertically  between  layers  of  brush  and  the 
density  of  each  layer  should  vary  with  the  velocity  of  the  water. 
For  velocities  below  3  feet  per  second,  the  density  of  the  riprap 
may  be  about  equal  to  that  of  the  branches  in  the  average  sage- 
brush, and  this  should  increase  with  higher  velocities. 

On  the  Minidoka  Project  a  large  amount  of  such  riprapping 
was  done  at  costs  varying  from  10  to  14  cents  per  square  yard. 
During  the  silting  process,  the  sage-brush  riprap  was  very  effective 
in  collecting  sediment. 

In  light  soils,  there  is  often  a  tendency  to  erosive  action  below 
checks  or  other  structures  in  the  canals,  and  deep  holes  are  some- 
times excavated  in  the  canal  bottoms  below  such  structures. 


DRAINAGE  151 

These  can  be  repaired  cheaply  with  a  sage-brush  mattress,  which 
must  be  deposited  when  the  water  is  turned  out  of  the  canal. 

The  excavation  is  brought  to  even  bottom  about  2>£  feet 
deep  and  somewhat  larger  in  area  than  the  hole  washed  out.  Stout 
stakes  4  feet  long  at  4-foot  intervals  are  driven  firmly  into  the 
bed  of  this  excavation.  At  the  down-stream  end  of  the  dip  the 
sage-brush  is  placed  butts  down,  leaning  the  tops  down-stream 
about  30  degrees  and  packing  them  closely. 

Galvanized  wires  are  stretched  across  the  brush,  weaving  it 
into  the  individual  bushes,  drawn  tightly  and  fastened  to  each 
stake.  As  the  mattress  nears  the  structure,  the  brush  should  be 
less  slanted,  until  at  the  structure  it  is  vertical,  and  where  the 
water  impinges  with  greatest  force  it  should  be  wedged  in  very 
tightly.  After  the  mattress  is  made,  the  stakes  should  be  driven 
down  further,  thus  tightening  the  wires  across  the  brush.  Then 
the  whole  mattress  should  be  puddled  with  mud  and  the  side 
slopes  of  the  canal  riprapped  with  sage-brush. 

Such  work  with  occasional  repairs  is  nearly  permanent. 

DRAINAGE 

The  more  sandy,  open  soils  allowed  the  irrigation  water  to 
pass  freely  to  depths  beyond  the  roots  of  the  plants,  and  thus 
required  very  frequent  wetting,  and  consumed  a  large  quantity 
of  water.  The  following  table  gives  average  depths  of  water 
used  in  one  season  for  the  various  soils: 

Sand 12     feet  in  depth 

Sandy  loam 8 

Light  sandy  loam 4       "     " 

Loam 2.5    " 

The  total  range  was,  of  course,  much  greater  than  this. 

The  difficulty  of  keeping  the  sandy  ground  sufficiently  wet  to 
keep  young  plants  growing  was  very  great,  and  led  to  efforts  to 
fill  the  subsoil  with  water  until  the  water  table  was  raised  to  such 
a  level  that  the  plant  roots  could  reach  moisture.  This  was 
accomplished  by  running  the  water  continuously  through  laterals 
at  frequent  intervals  across  the  fields.  The  practice  grew  until 
it  became  prevalent  over  the  sandier  areas  and  some  tracts  of  land 
received  in  one  season  sufficient  water  to  cover  them  over  20  feet 
deep.  This  practice  brought  the  water  table  to  the  surface  over 


152  MINIDOKA    PROJECT 

large  areas  and  killed  all  useful  vegetation  thereon.  Several  hun- 
dred acres  were  actually  submerged  with  standing  seepage  water. 

The  water  drawn  from  Lake  Walcott  was  clear,  and  the  flat 
country  required  canals  of  slight  grade  and  low  velocity.  These 
conditions  combined  with  the  open  soil  caused  heavy  seepage 
losses  from  the  canals  and  laterals  through  the  sandy  areas  and 
these  losses  added  to  the  extravagant  use  of  water  in  "bringing 
up  the  sub"  soon  began  to  tax  the  canal  capacity,  and  urgently 
called  for  remedy. 

In  1913,  it  was  decided  to  undertake  the  silting  of  the  canals 
through  the  sandy  reaches  to  reduce  seepage  losses.  This  was 
done  by  sluicing  clay  from  a  bank  near  the  canal  and  spilling  the 
water  laden  with  finely  divided  clay  into  the  canal  from  a  flume. 
The  water  was  pumped  from  the  canal  with  a  centrifugal  pump 
and  forced  through  a  monitor  for  sluicing  purposes.  The  clay 
settled  in  a  thin  layer  over  all  the  wetted  perimeter  and  greatly 
improved  seepage  conditions. 

Altogether,  about  112,000  cubic  yards  of  silt  were  sluiced  into 
the  canal,  at  a  cost  slightly  over  20  cents  per  yard.  As  a  result, 
the  losses  from  the  main  canal  were  reduced  from  an  average  of 
110  cubic  feet  per  second  in  1912  to  71  second-feet  in  1915,  a  re- 
duction of  35.5  per  cent  of  the  total  losses.  Large  reduction  in 
losses  from  the  lateral  system  was  also  effected. 

A  number  of  incidental  benefits  have  resulted  from  the  silting, 
besides  the  saving  of  water  and  partial  relief  from  water-logging. 
Some  of  the  clay  passed  out  on  the  sandy  lands  in  the  process  of 
irrigation  and  greatly  improved  it  by  making  it  less  pervious. 
To  obtain  the  full  benefit  of  this,  deep  plowing  and  thorough 
harrowing  are  necessary.  In  some  of  the  laterals,  the  deposit  of 
clay  was  excessive  and  cleaning  was  required.  The  clay  placed  on 
the  sandy  banks  of  these  laterals  gave  a  coating  that  stopped  the 
wind  erosion  that  had  given  much  trouble  by  destroying  the 
banks  and  filling  ditches. 

The  topography  of  the  north  side  of  Snake  River  on  the  Mini- 
doka  Project,  comprising  70,000  acres,  was  almost  flat  except  for 
minor  local  inequalities,  and  contained  practically  no  drainage 
lines.  Storm  water  had  no  escape  except  through  the  subsoil,  and 
in  a  few  places  formed  ponds  in  wet  seasons.  The  advent  of 
irrigation,  with  its  excessive  application  of  water,  increased  the 
number  and  permanency  of  these  ponds  and  gradually  the  ground 


DRAINAGE  153 

water  rose  over  large  areas  until,  in  1912,  506  farms  were  affected 
and  nearly  7,000  acres  of  land  were  damaged. 

A  complete  system  of  main  drains  was  planned  in  1910  and 
about  108  miles  of  open  drains  have  been  built  at  a  total  cost  of 
about  $622,000  or  about  $1.09  per  foot,  Most  of  the  work  was 
done  by  Government  forces  with  two  large  drag-line  scrapers  with 
electrical  equipment,  the  motive  power  being  furnished  by  the 
hydroelectric  plant  at  the  diversion  dam.  A  suction  dredge  was 
employed  on  part  of  the  work,  and  a  small  part  was  done  with 
teams.  The  work  done  with  the  large  drag-lines  averaged  about 
10  cents  per  cubic  yard,  exclusive  of  overhead  and  general  expenses, 
the  contract  work  with  teams  ranging  from  12.2  cents  for  earth 
and  34  cents  for  hardpan  to  $2  per  yard  for  rock,  of  which  the 
quantity  was  small. 

The  drains  discharged  a  maximum  of  229  second-feet  in  the 
suminer  of  1915.  The  cost  of  maintaining  these  drains  ranges 
from  $30  to  $40  per  mile  per  annum.  They  have  effected  a 
practically  complete  cure  of  the  seepage  conditions,  only  400 
acres  remaining  to  be  reached  by  short  branch  drains. 

Incidentally  these  drains  furnish  an  abundance  of  good  stock 
water  through  the  winter,  much  warmer  and  therefore  better  than 
canal  water,  and  this  has  proved  an  important  stimulus  to  the 
winter  feeding  of  stock  and  greatly  promoted  the  prosperity  of 
the  farmers. 

WATER  DELIVERY 

On  the  north  side  or  gravity  unit  of  the  Minidoka  Project 
water  is  delivered  to  each  lateral  continuously  during  the  irriga- 
tion season.  In  some  cases  the  irrigators  under  one  lateral  rotate 
among  themselves,  using  a  head  of  1  second-foot  or  less.  On  the 
south  side  or  pumping  unit  a  rotation  head  of  from  1  to  2  second- 
feet  is  used,  and  is  delivered  continuously  to  each  160-acre  tract 
in  crop.  Eighty  acres  in  crop  receive  a  rotation  head  eight  days 
in  every  sixteen.  Forty  acres  in  crop  receive  a  rotation  head  four 
days  in  every  sixteen,  but  intervals  between  deliveries  never 
exceed  eight  days.  Modifications  of  delivery  dates  may  be 
mutually  arranged  between  water  users. 

*  The  gravity  portion  of  the  Minidoka  Project  was  mainly 
built  by  F.  C.  Horn,  under  the  general  direction  of  D.  W.  Ross, 
Supervising  Engineer.  The  power  and  pumping  plants  were 
designed  and  built  under  the  direction  of  O.  H.  Ensign. 


CHAPTER  IX 
HUNTLEY  PROJECT 

DESCRIPTION 

The  Yellowstone  River  is  one  of  the  few  in  the  West  which 
presented  to  the  Reclamation  Service  an  opportunity  for  diversion 
of  water  upon  irrigable  land  without  the  necessity  of  storage. 
Water  is  diverted  on  the  right  bank  of  Yellowstone  River  about 
12  miles  east  of  Billings,  Montana,  and  carried  through  a  series 
of  tunnels  and  heavy  cuts  to  cover  about  28,900  acres  of  irrigable 
land. 

The  head-works  consist  of  a  reinforced-concrete  structure  pro- 
vided with  two  steel  gates,  each  5X7  feet,  installed  parallel  to 
the  river  bank,  and  designed  to  divert  water  from  Yellowstone 
River  without  the  employment  of  a  weir. 

CANAL   SYSTEM 

The  Northern  Pacific  Railway  occupies  the  right  bank  of  the 
river  in  this  locality,  and  it  was  found  necessary  to  carry  the 
canal  under  it  at  the  head-works,  and  to  construct  a  series  of 
tunnels  and  heavy  cuts  as  a  conduit  parallel  to  the  railway,  leav- 
ing ample  space  for  double-tracking  the  railway  in  future. 

After  passing  under  the  railroad,  the  water  enters  tunnel  No. 
1,  which  is  700  feet  long,  and  thence  passes  through  a  rock  cut  to 
tunnel  No.  2,  which  has  a  length  of  1,550  feet,  and  later  through 
tunnel  No.  3,  400  feet  in  length.  These  tunnels  are  lined  with 
concrete  and  are  9.2  feet  wide  and  9  feet  high  at  the  center  of 
the  arch.  The  channel  changes  from  cut  to  tunnel  by  means  of 
warped  surfaces  in  each  case.  The  rated  capacity  is  400  cubic  feet 
per  second.  At  the  entrance  of  tunnel  No.  3,  about  11,000  feet  from 
the  head-gate,  is  a  heavy  reinforced-concrete  structure  used  as  a 
wasteway  during  low  water,  and  at  flood  stages  may  be  employed 
as  an  intake. 

The  canal  location  crosses  the  original  channel  of  Pryor  Creek 
154 


156  HUNTLEY    PROJECT 

eight  times.  To  eliminate  these  crossings,  the  creek  was  diverted 
i<>  the  left,  into  an  artificial  channel,  and  a  reinforced-concrete 
structure  carries  the  flood  waters  of  the  creek  over  the  canal  in 
a  sort  of  flume,  and  discharges  them  under  the  Northern  Pacific 
Railroad  tracks  into  the  river.  After  passing  through  a  heavy 
gravel  cut,  the  canal  emerges  upon  the  irrigable  land  a  short  dis- 
tance east  of  Huntley. 

About  12  miles  further  east,  near  the  town  of  Ballantyne,  an 
economical  location  requires  the  main  canal  to  drop  to  a  lower 
level,  where  a  fall  of  34  feet  is  utilized  to'  generate  power  by  which 
50  cubic  feet  of  water  per  second  is  pumped  to  a  bench  45  feet 
higher  than  the  main  canal,  and  covers  about  3,000  acres  of  land 
on  that  bench  east  of  Ballantyne.  The  pumping  plant  is  in  two 
units,  each  with  a  capacity  of  28  cubic  feet  per  second  and  each 
consisting  of  a  20-inch  centrifugal  pump  actuated  by  a  vertical 
turbine  on  the  same  shaft,  the  whole  unit  being  enclosed  in  a 
steel  cylinder.  The  weight  of  the  moving  parts  is  carried  on  a 
film  of  water  under  pressure  from  the  force  pipe.  An  automatic 
alarm  gives  warning  of  any  failure  of  the  system  of  water  lubrica- 
tion. These  direct-pumping  units  are  automatic,  requiring  no 
attendance  except  to  keep  trash  away  and  to  see  that  nothing- 
goes  wrong  with  the  lubrication. 

Cross  drainage  was  taken  care  of  by  culverts  when  the  drain- 
age line  was  small  and  the  grade  was  suitable.  Some  of  the 
larger  torrents  were  carried  over  the  canal  in  superpassages. 
An  important  example  of  the  latter  class  is  the  structure  built 
to  carry  the  Custer  Coulee  across  the  canal.  This  coulee  drains 
an  area  of  about  7  square  miles  above  the  canal,  and  a  superpas- 
sage  was  designed  for  a  capacity  of  500  cubic  feet  per  second.  The 
water  is  backed  up  in  the  channel  to  a  depth  of  8.5  feet  above 
the  bottom  of  the  coule"e  to  reach  the  rated  discharge.  The  flume 
is  designed  to  serve  also  as  a  bridge  when  not  carrying  water. 
Fig.  55  shows  a  view  of  this  structure. 

COST  OF  MAIN  AND  HIGH  LINE  CANALS 

Dry  excavation,  earth,        755,924  cu.  yds.  at  $0.24 $181  472 

loose  rock,    8,227        "        «       .57 4*698 

rock,            13,093        «        "     1.23 16,097 

earth,          10,773        "        "       .72 7,718 

rock,             6,702        "        «    2.97  19*913 

Overhaul,  149,544  station  yards                      «       .0175 '.'.'.'.'.'.'.'.['.'.  2*615 

Total  excavation .....'..'.'.'.  $232,513 


158  HUNTLEY    PROJECT 

COST  OF  MAIN  AND  HIGH  LINE  CANALS— Continued 
Head-works: 

Reinforced  concrete,  186  cu.  yds.  at  $17.57 $3,268 

Gates  and  guides,  and  placing,  4,328  Ibs.  at  24  cents 1,040 

Two  stands  and  shafts,  at  $302.50 605 

Total  head-works $4,913 

Canal  lining,  826.2  cu.  yds.  at  $10 $  8,262 

Tunnel  No.  1,  724  lin.  ft.  at  $46.14 .- 33,405 

Concrete  in  portals,  74.6  cu.  yds.  at  $17.47 1,304 

Tunnel  No.  2,  1,545  lin.  ft.  at  $44.22 , 68,332 

Concrete  in  portals,  163  cu.  yds.  at  $17.46 2,844 

Wasteway,  concrete,  338  cu.  yds.  at  $18.50 6,250 

Gates  and  guides,  and  placing,  4,328  Ibs.  at  24  cents 1,043 

Two  shafts  and  gate  stands  at  $303.50 607 

Tunnel  No.  3,  385  lin.  ft.  at  $44 16,940 

Concrete  in  portals,  74.6  cu.  yds.  at  $17.42 1,300 

Reinforced-concrete  culvert  under  Pryor  Creek 8,620 

Rectification  of  Pryor  Creek 19,298 

Two  steel-truss  highway  bridges  across  main  canal  and  Pryor  Creek  5,226 

Two  reinforced-concrete  culverts  to  carry  main  canal  under  railroad  9,086 

Reinforced-concrete  culvert  to  carry  high  line  under  railroad 2,690 

Concrete  flume  to  carry  Custer  Coulee  over  main  canal 2,884 

Seven  concrete  drain  culverts  under  main  canal 21,816 

Reinforced-concrete  flume  to  carry  drainage  over  canal 4,542 

Concrete  culvert  and  wasteway  at  Arrow  Creek 10,891 

Second  drop  and  diffusion  chamber 11,140 

Concrete  pressure  pipe  under  Fly  Creek 4,440 

Three  reinforced-concrete  drainage  culverts 5,723 

Thirty-nine  vitrified  pipe  culverts 6,526 

Railroad  bridges  and  culverts 4,615 

Real  estate 651 

Total  main  and  high  line  canals '. $495,862 

COST  OF  DIRECT-PUMPING  PLANT 

Excavation,  22,666  cu.  yds.  at  81  cents $  18,468 

Concrete,  17,592  cu.  yds.  at  $20 35,184 

Puddling  and  paving 250 

Two  vertical-shaft  direct-pumping  units  at  $3,800 7,600 

Two  steel  draft  tubes,  12,750  Ibs.  at  12  cents 1,530 

Two  steel  intake  pipes,  17,038  Ibs.  at  12  cents 2,044 

Two  gate  valves  for  discharge  pipes,  6,430  Ibs.  at  14  cents 900 

Piping,  20,200  Ibs.  at  11  cents 2,222 

Traveller,  truck,  trolley  and  chain  block l'lOO 

Two  head-gates  and  frames,  $1,112  each 2*224 

Total  pumping  plant j  71,522 

Cost  of  Distributing  System $238,125 

28,805  acres  served  at  $8.26  per  acre. 


SMALL    FARM    UNITS 


AGRICULTURAL   RESULTS 


159 


The  lands  of  the  Huntley  Project  were  formerly  a  part  of  the 
Crow  Indian  Reservation.  By  Act  of  Congress,  approved  April 
27,  1904,  a  portion  of  the  reservation  lands,  including  the  Huntley 
Project,  were  made  subject  to  reservation  and  disposition  under 


FIG.  53. — Waste-gates  and  Portal  of  Tunnel  No.  3,  Huntley  Project. 

the  terms  of  the  Reclamation  Act,  in  conjunction  with  the  con- 
struction of  irrigation  works  so  far  as  feasible  projects  occurred. 
Under  the  provisions  of  this  act,  the  lands  to  be  irrigated  under 
the  Huntley  Project  were  withheld  from  settlement  until  the 
works  were  constructed  and  the  water  ready  for  delivery.  They 
were  then  opened  to  homestead  entry  in  units  of  40  acres,  and 
one  installment  of  the  building  charge  was  required  at  time  of 
entry.  The  service  by  thus  having  a  free  hand  obtained  settlers 
when  wanted,  secured  a  small  farm  unit,  and  a  class  of  settlers 
having  a  "stake"  in  the  land  by  reason  of  making  a  substantial 
payment  in  advance. 


HUNTLEY   PROJECT 


The  result  has  been  one  of  the  most  successful  projects  the 
Service  has  opened.  The  building  charge  is  $30  per  acre,  in 
addition  to  which  the  settler  must  pay  the  operation  and  main- 
tenance charge  of  about  75  cents  per  acre  per  annum,  and  $1 
per  acre  per  annum  for  the  land  for  the  benefit  of  the  Indians 


FIG.  54. — Concrete  Flume  over  Huntley  Main  Canal. 

until  this  amounts  to  $4.  Notwithstanding  these  charges  and  the 
cold  climate,  very  few  cases  of  delinquency  have  occurred,  and 
general  deferment  of  collections  or  graduation  of  payments  has 
never  been  requested.  Some  cases  of  hard  struggles  have  oc- 
curred where  settlers  were  unfortunate  or  possessed  insufficient 
capital,  but  only  three  entries  have  been  cancelled  for  non-payment. 

DRAINAGE 

In  parts  of  the  Huntley  Project  the  soil  is  very  gravelly  and 
open,  and  in  such  places  the  losses  from  the  canals  are  consider- 
able, and  large  quantities  of  water  are  used  in  irrigation  and  escape 
into  the  subsoil.  In  other  localities  the  soil  is  of  a  heavy-clay 
character,  and  the  processes  of  irrigation  have  led  to  the  rise  of 
ground  water  on  a  part  of  the  project  to  an  extent  to  require 
the  inauguration  of  drainage  works  to  relieve  the  waterlogged 
condition  threatened  in  some  places. 


WATER    DELIVERY 


161 


A  large  mileage  of  open  drains  have  been  built,  and  27 
miles  of  tiling  have  been  laid  underground.  These  measures  have 
had  satisfactory  results  in  relieving  the  conditions  where  they 
were  applied.  In  a  few  cases  seepage  conditions  were  improved 
by  lining  short  reaches  of  the  canals  with  concrete  in  gravelly 


FIG.  55. — Superpassage  of  Custer  Coulee,  Huntley  Project,  Montana. 

places.  At  this  writing,  1916,  the  service  has  built  on  the  Huntley 
Project  about  6  miles  of  open  drains  at  an  average  cost  of  $2,000 
per  mile,  and  27  miles  of  tile  drains,  mostly  12  and  15  inches  in- 
ternal diameter,  at  an  average  cost  of  $8,750  per  mile,  involving 
a  total  cost  for  drainage  of  about  $248,000,  which  is  a  little  over 
$20  per  acre  for  the  land  relieved  by  the  works. 


WATER   DELIVERY 

Water  is  delivered  on  the  Huntley  Project  by  rotation.  Each 
irrigator  receives  double  the  average  quantity  to  which  he  is 
entitled  for  a  period  of  four  days,  and  for  the  next  four  days 
receives  none.  This  system  is  made  elastic  and  provides  for 
variation  as  desired  by  the  users  so  far  as  this  does  not  interfere 
with  the  regular  delivery  to  others,  and  considerable  exchange  of 


162  HUNTLEY    PROJECT 

delivery  between  irrigators  takes  place.     The  system  gives  entire 
satisfaction. 

The  Huntley  Project  was  mainly  designed  and  built  under 
the  direction  of  H.  N.  Savage.  The  pumping  plant  was  de- 
signed and  built  under  the  direction  of  O.  H.  Ensign. 


CHAPTER  X 
LOWER  YELLOWSTONE  PROJECT 

DESCRIPTION 

Montana  and  North  Dakota  were  both  States  from  which  the 
receipts  from  the  sale  of  public  lands  were  large,  the  latter  leading 
the  list  for  several  years.  Under  the  provision  of  the  Reclamation 
Law,  providing  for  the  expenditure  of  the  money  within  the  State 
in  which  it  was  received,  it  became  necessary,  in  order  to  make 
these  funds  available,  to  find  a  project  for  construction  that  would 
irrigate  land  in  North  Dakota.  Reconnaissance  for  this  purpose 
was  begun  in  1902,  soon  after  the  passage  of  the  act,  but  without 
success. 

In  1903,  the  investigations  were  extended  into  the  Yellow- 
stone Valley,  and  it  was  found  to  be  possible  to  divert  the  waters 
of  Yellowstone  River  near  the  town  of  Glendive,  Montana,  into  a 
canal  on  the  north  side  of  the  river,  and  irrigate  a  large  acreage 
lying  partly  in  Montana  and  partly  in  North  Dakota.  In  the 
following  year  the  surveys  were  considered  on  the  ground  by  a 
Board  of  Engineers  and  a  diversion  point  selected  about  18  miles 
below  Glendive. 

The  project  provides  for  the  diversion  of  water  on  the  north 
side  of  the  river  into  a  canal  with  a  capacity  of  800  cubic  feet 
per  second,  which  extends  down  the  valley  about  66  miles  to 
the  Missouri  River  and  covers  about  66,000  acres  of  land.  At 
a  point  about  19  miles  below  the  head  of  the  canal  where  it  is 
necessary  to  drop  a  portion  of  the  water  to  a  lower  level  the 
energy  of  the  falling  water  is  to  be  utilized  to  lift  water  to  a  higher 
level  for  the  irrigation  of  about  3,000  acres  lying  above  the  main 
canal. 

MAIN   CANAL 

The  head-gates  for  the  main  canal,  eleven  in  number,  are  set 
in  a  high,  massive,  reinforced-concrete  structure,  built  to  an  eleva- 
tion above  high-water  mark,  and  containing  4,882  cubic  yards  of 

163 


HEAD-WORKS  165 

concrete  and  45,000  pounds  of  steel.  The  structure  is  protected 
from  the  impact  of  ice  by  a  sheathing  of  heavy  pine  timbers  which 
are  easily  renewable.  The  designs  are  shown  in  Fig.  56. 

Several  important  structures  in  connection  with  this  canal 
were  necessary  to  care  for  the  cross  drainage  lines.  The  first  of 
these  is  Linden  Creek,  which  is  carried  across  the  canal  in  a  super- 
passage,  consisting  of  a  reinforced-concrete  flume  12  feet  wide, 
8  feet  6  inches  deep,  and  152  feet  long. 

At  Burns  Creek,  8  miles  below  the  heading,  are  provided  two 
sluice-gates  set  below  the  grade  of  the  canal,  each  5  X  12  feet. 
The  waters  of  the  creek  are  carried  in  a  channel  100  feet  wide 
under  which  the  canal  waters  are  carried  in  two  conduits 
each  9  X  10^2  feet-  The  design  of  this  structure  is  shown  on 
Fig.  59. 

Fox  Creek,  36  miles  below  the  head-works,  is  the  largest 
stream  crossed.  The  canal  is  carried  under  the  channel  of  the 
creek  in  a  reinforced-concrete  pressure  conduit  or  inverted  siphon 
225  feet  long,  with  two  barrels,  each  7  feet  in  diameter,  at  the 
head  of  which  is  a  sluiceway  having  two  gates,  each  5X5  feet. 

Low-water  period  on  the  Yellowstone  River  is  from  August 
15  to  May  1  of  the  next  year,  interrupted  for  a  short  period, 
usually  in  March,  when  the  ice  breaks  up  and  is  usually  accom- 
panied by  violent  freshets.  The  regular  high-water  period  occurs 
between  May  15  and  August  15,  due  to  melting  snow  in  the 
mountains. 

Ordinary  low  water  is  about  6,000  cubic  feet  per  second,  and 
extremely  high  water  about  160,000,  which  carries  large  quantities 
of  drift,  mostly  submerged. 

The  river  bottom  was  mostly  coarse  gravel,  underlaid  with 
tough  blue  clay,  irregularly  mixed  with  sand,  which  was  prac- 
tically water-tight,  very  hard  and  firm  in  places,  but  easily 
eroded  in  others.  The  gravel  cover  varied  in  thickness  from 
zero  to  a  maximum  of  11  feet.  The  clay  extended  to  an  unknown 
depth. 

DIVERSION   DAM 

The  diversion  dam  is  a  rock-filled  pile  weir  decked  with  timber 
700  feet  long  and  50  feet  4  inches  wide,  with  an  average  height 
above  river-bed  of  about  9  feet.  It  raises  the  water  about  4  feet 


166 


LOWER   YELLOWSTONE    PROJECT 


above  natural  low  water  into  a  canal  on  the  north  bank.     The 
design  of  the  dam  is  shown  on  Plate  56. 

A  contract  was  let  for  its  construction  in  1906,  and  work  was 
started  in  1907.     Flood  conditions  and  the  cold  climate  made  it 


FIG,  57. — Head-gates  and  Dam,  Lower  Yellowstone  Main  Canal. 


necessary  to  plan  construction  work  with  care  and  skill  and  to 
carry  out  the  plans  with  energy  and  precision.  It  was  the  con- 
tractor's plan  to  drive  the  round  piles  in  the  spring  of  1907,  before 
the  summer  floods,  and  to  complete  the  dam  after  the  flood  had 
subsided.  This  was  defeated  by  the  difficulty  of  procuring  piles, 
and  work  was  postponed  till  1908,  and  the  driving  of  permanent 
round  piles  was  begun  in  April  of  that  year,  and  480  such  piles 
had  been  driven  when  work  was  stopped  by  high  water,  on 
May  20,  and  could  not  be  resumed  until  August  3.  When  the 
summer  flood  had  subsided,  efforts  were  made  to  drive  the  sheet 
piling  required,  which  was  of  the  Wakefield  type,  built  of  three 
planks  each.  It  was  found  after  thorough  trial  that  because  of 
their  length  and  flexibility,  and  the  hardness  of  the  bottom,  such 
piles  invariably  failed  before  reaching  a  satisfactory  penetration. 
A  similar  result  followed  trials  with  four-ply  piles  of  the  same 


DIVERSION    DAM  167 

type,  both  with  a  steam  hammer  and  a  drop  hammer.  It  was 
accordingly  found  necessary  to  change  the  type  of  sheet 
piling. 

An  examination  in  August,  1908,  showed  that  the  driving  of 
the  round  piles  by  the  contractor  previous  to  the  summer  flood 
had  been  a  great  mistake.  The  high  velocities  of  the  flood  season, 
aggravated  by  the  accumulation  of  drift  against  the  piles,  had 
caused  great  erosion  of  the  river-bed,  and  had  taken  out  a  number 
of  the  round  piles  and  left  others  with  scant  penetration.  These 
various  delays  and  difficulties  discouraged  the  contractor  and  on 
September  14,  1908,  he  refused  to  proceed  further  under  the 
contract,  which  was  accordingly  suspended  and  the  work  under- 
taken by  Government  forces.  So  much  of  the  low-water  period 
had  been  lost,  and  the  material  and  equipment  on  hand  were  so 
incomplete,  that  it  was  deemed  imprudent  to  attempt  to  com- 
plete the  dam  before  next  high  water,  and  most  of  the  round  piles 
already  driven  were  pulled. 

It  was  decided  to  complete  62  linear  feet  of  the  dam  adjacent 
to  the  south  abutment,  to  remove  the  plant  and  lumber  to  high 
ground  for  safety,  and  then  await  the  next  low-water  season. 

The  62-foot  section  was  completed  by  December  31,  1908,  by 
J.  W.  Martin,  who  soon  after  resigned,  and  was  later  succeeded 
by  Joseph  Wright. 

No  further  construction  work  being  practicable  till  after  the 
summer  flood  had  passed,  the  spring  and  early  summer  were 
occupied  in  assembling  material  and  equipment  and  the  con- 
struction of  adequate  camp  and  construction  plant.  An  examina- 
tion of  the  river-bed  showed  that  the  greater  part  of  the  erosion 
which  had  occurred  in  1908  had  been  refilled  with  gravel  during 
the  floods  of  1909. 

The  river  having  sufficiently  subsided  by  August  13,  active 
construction  was  started  on  that  date  and  pushed  with  all  possible 
speed,  24  hours  per  day  and  7  days  per  week.  Instead  of  the  Wake- 
field  sheet  piling,  resort  was  had  to  solid  timbers  of  Douglas  fir, 
10  X  10  inches,  sharpened  and  shod,  and  with  strips  of  3  X  4 
inches  spiked  on  in  such  positions  as  serve  for  tongue  and  groove. 
These  were  found  to  have  far  greater  rigidity  and  endurance  than 
the  Wakefield  piling.  Where  the  ground  was  too  hard  for  satis- 
factory penetration  by  these  piles,  a  steel  shape,  built  of  riveted 
steel  about  the  size  of  the  pile,  was  first  driven  and  after- 


1(58  LOWER    YELLOWSTONE    PROJECT 

ward  withdrawn,  and  the  pile  driven  in  its  place.  Where  the 
ground  was  too  hard  for  this  process,  plain  steel  sheet  piling  was 
driven,  but  in  most  locations  the  wooden  piles  were  used. 

The  cofferdam  was  constructed  by  allowing  the  sheet  piles, 
which  constitute  the  upper  and  lower  curtain  walls  of  the  dam, 
to  project  well  above  water  surface  and  banking  them  with 
gravel.  To  prevent  scour  of  the  open  section  of  the  river  while 
the  first  two  sections  of  the  dam  were  being  constructed,  the  river 
bottom  was  blanketed  with  large  stone  and  much  of  the  apron 
stone  below  the  dam  was  placed,  care  being  taken  to  keep  the 
stone  out  of  the  line  to  be  occupied  by  the  sheet  piling.  This 
effectually  protected  the  bottom  from  erosion,  but  before  it  could 
be  placed  a  very  unusual  rise  in  the  river  occurred  in  September, 
which  caused  heavy  scour  around  the  ends  of  the  cofferdam. 
This  was  combated  and  finally  controlled  by  means  of  sacks  filled 
with  gravel  and  by  dumping  rock  in  the  area  threatened  with 
erosion.  The  last  section  of  the  dam  was  closed  by  depositing 
sufficient  large  stone  to  raise  the  water  over  the  completed  section 
of  the  dam,  and  thus  reduce  the  head  and  the  current  sufficiently 
to  permit  the  construction  of  the  pile  cofferdam. 

The  dam  proper  was  completed  ready  for  wrecking  the  last 
cofferdam,  January  29,  1910,  and  the  work  finished  a  few  weeks 
later. 

Shortly  after  the  completion  of  the  dam,  on  March  4,  the  ice 
broke  up  and  passed  down  the  river  with  customary  violence, 
but  soundings  made  in  the  following  season  of  low  water  revealed 
no  damage  to  the  dam. 

The  ice-run  of  March,  1911,  was  unusually  severe,  and  a  great 
deal  of  pounding  of  ice  masses  on  the  apron  of  the  dam  was  seen 
and  heard.  The  severity  of  this  run  was  due  to  a  succession  of 
ice-jams  which  broke  suddenly  and  sent  vast  masses  of  ice  down 
the  river  at  high  velocities.  Examination  of  the  dam  after  this 
run  showed  that  much  of  the  loose  stone  below  the  dam  had  been 
moved  down-stream  and  that  some  erosion  had  occurred  along 
the  lower  side  of  the  down-stream  row  of  sheet  piling.  No  repairs 
were  made  that  spring,  however. 

In  November,  a  more  thorough  examination  showed  that  the 

lower  row  of  sheet  piling,  for  a  distance  of  about  500  feet,  had  been 

Jt  off  by  the  ice  or  otherwise  broken  and  that  a  portion  of  the 

timber  deck  was  gone.     Serious  erosion  had  also  taken  place  at 


170  LOWER    YELLOWSTONE    PROJECT 

several  points  in  the  body  of  the  dam,  and  a  large  amount  of  rock 
removed  from  the  section  where  the  deck  was  gone. 

It  was  found  that  where  steel  piling  had  been  driven  it  had 
successfully  resisted  the  pounding  of  the  ice,  and  it  was  therefore 
decided  to  employ  steel  in  place  of  the  wooden  sheet  piling  that 
had  been  sheared  or  battered  off  by  the  ice.  A  cableway  was 
installed  over  the  dam  site  to  facilitate  repairs  and  rock  was 
placed  in  the  dam  to  the  amount  of  about  6,000  cubic  yards,  and 
about  the  same  amount  was  placed  below  the  dam  to  protect  the 
toe  from  erosion.  The  deck  of  the  injured  portion  was  restored. 
Notwithstanding  the  severe  winter,  the  repairs  were  completed 
on  February  17,  1912,  before  the  ice  run  of  that  year.  The  dam 
has  ever  since  given  satisfactory  service  without  material  repairs. 

SUMMARY  OF  COSTS,  LOWER  YELLOWSTONE  PROJECT 

Diversion  dam $  331,917 

Main  canal 2,003,080 

Lateral  system 263,509 

Highway  bridges 75^357 

Real  estate  rights  and  property 29,137 

Buildings 18)162 

Telephone  system 23,717 

Survey  of  irrigable  lands 15,357 

Examination  of  project  as  a  whole 50,453 


Total  construction  cost $2,810  689 


AGRICULTURAL   l£§ULTS 

The  water  supply  from  the  Lower  Yellowstone  River  is  unfail- 
ing, the  works  for  its  diversion-  and  delivery  are  effective  and 
satisfactory,  the  soil  is  productive,  and  the  climate  favorable  for 
agriculture,  but  the  agricultural  results  from  the  Lower  Yellow- 
stone Project  are  disappointing.    This  is  due  entirely  to  the  failure 
or  refusal  on  the  part  of  the  majority  of  the  land  owners  to  use 
e  water  in  irrigation.     The  location  of  the  project  is  in  the 
semi-arid  region,  where  some  seasons  occur  when  the  rainfall  is 
cient  for  most  crops,  and  in  nearly  half  the  years  enough  rain 
secure  fair  crops  of  some  kind.     It  can  easily  be  demon- 
that  irrigation  would  pay  well  in  the  long  run,  but  each 
year  the  average  farmer  hopes  for  favorable  rains,  and  prefers 
the  chance  of  nature  to  assuming  the  certainty  of  his 


172 


LOWER   YELLOWSTONE    PROJECT 


water  payments.  The  following  table  shows  the  relation  of  the 
irrigated  area  to  the  area  for  which  the  Service  was  prepared  to 
supply  water. 

IRRIGATED  AREAS,  LOWER  YELLOWSTONE  PROJECT 


1910 

1911 

1912 

1913 

1914 

1915 

Acreage  for  which  Service  was  pre- 
pared to  supply  water  
Acreage  irrigated  

40,133 
8,655 

37,867 
15,445 

37,880 
5,068 

37,799 
7,660 

36,250 
5,743 

36,250 
5,765 

The  Lower  Yellowstone  Project  is  an  excellent  illustration  of 
the  psychological  phenomena  above  described,  which  is  illustrated 


FIG.  60.— Outlet  End  of  Crane  Creek  Sluiceway,  showing  Taintor    Gates. 

also  by  numerous  canals  which  were  built  in  Kansas,  Nebraska, 
and  the  Dakotas,  and  though  much  needed  at  times,  the  seasons 
such  as  to  stimulate  the  immortal  hope  for  favorable  rains, 
and  the  canals  were  allowed  to  fall  into  disrepair  and  were 
abandoned. 

The  Lower  Yellowstone  Project  was  designed  and  built  by 
*•  &.  Weymouth,  under  the  general  direction  of  H.  N  Savage 
Supervising  Engineer,  with  A.  J.  Wiley  as  Consulting  Engineer/ 


CHAPTER  XI 
NORTH  PLATTE  PROJECT 

DESCRIPTION 

In  the  North  Platte  Valley  in  Wyoming  and  Nebraska  is  one 
of  the  largest  and  most  comprehensive  reclamation  projects  in 
the  United  States.  When  the  United  States  entered  this  field, 
a  large  number  of  small  canals  had  been  built  in  the  valley,  most 
of  them  in  Nebraska,  and  the  unregulated  water  supply  was  so 
far  over-appropriated  that  in  the  autumn  of  years  of  low  run-off 
the  river  was  nearly  dry,  even  at  the  State  line,  and  in  all  normal 
years  most  of  the  canals  in  Nebraska  were  short  of  water  in  the 
late  summer. 

The  Government  investigations  therefore  began  with  a  search 
for  reservoir  sites.  One  on  the  Sweetwater,  a  tributary  of  the 
main  stream,  previously  recommended,  was  found  to  have  un- 
favorable foundation  conditions  and  deficient  water  supply.  A  site 
was  found,  however,  on  the  North  Platte  itself  about  3  miles  below 
the  mouth  of  the  Sweetwater,  where  a  reservoir,  known  as  the 
Pathfinder,  was  constructed  with  a  capacity  of  1,100,000  acre-feet, 
a  magnitude  sufficient  to  provide  storage  for  irrigation  purposes 
of  all  the  unappropriated  supply  of  normal  years  and  to  hold  a 
large  reserve  from  the  years  of  heavy  run-off  for  use  in  years  of 
drouth. 

These  waters  are  diverted  by  a  concrete  dam  near  Whalen, 
Wyoming,  into  a  canal  on  the  north  side  of  the  river  called  the 
Interstate  Canal,  supplying  lands  in  both  Wyoming  and  Nebraska. 
Provision  is  also  made  at  this  dam  for  a  canal  on  the  south  side 
called  the  Fort  Laramie  Canal. 

INTERSTATE    CANAL 

The  Interstate  Canal  has  a  capacity  at  its  head  for  about 
1,300  cubic  feet  of  water  per  second,  which  is  used  directly  in 
irrigation  of  the  lands  under  it,  and  its  entire  supply  is  needed  for 

173 


174  NORTH    PLATTE    PROJECT 

such  lands  in  summer.  In  the  spring  and  autumn,  when  less 
water  is  used,  the  surplus  capacity  is  employed  to  convey  water  to 
a  series  of  small  reservoirs  that  have  been  constructed  in  the 
valley,  beginning  about  100  miles  below  the  head-works  of  the 
canal. 

The  first  of  these  reservoirs,  called  Lake  Alice,  has  a  capacity 
of  14,000  acre-feet,  and  was  placed  in  service  in  1913.  The 
largest,  first  used  in  1915,  is  called  Lake  Minitare,  and  has  a 
capacity  of  about  67,000  acre-feet. 

These  reservoirs  enable  the  main  canal  to  bring  water  to  a 
much  larger  area  than  it  could  otherwise  supply,  and  also  furnish 
valuable  insurance  to  the  lands  under  them,  which  otherwise 
would  be  left  without  a  supply  in  the  event  of  a  break  in  the 
canal,  the  liability  to  which  increases  with  its  length.  Lake 
Alice  is  nearly  100  miles  from  the  head  of  the  canal,  and  Lake 
Minitare  is  12  miles  still  further  east. 

PATHFINDER   DAM 

The  Pathfinder  Dam  is  built  of  granite  random  rubble  masonry 
with  coursed  rubble  faces.  It  is  curved  to  a  radius  of  150  feet, 
has  a  total  length  of  432  feet,  a  height  of  218  feet  above  lowest 
foundation,  a  top  width  of  10  feet,  an  up-stream  batter  of  15  per 
cent  and  a  down-stream  batter  of  25  per  cent.  It  is  located  about 
3  miles  below  the  junction  of  the  North  Platte  and  Sweetwater 
Rivers,  where  the  canyon  is  about  90  feet  wide  at  the  bottom  and 
200  feet  wide  at  the  top,  the  sides  for  the  upper  75  feet  being 
nearly  vertical.  The  depth  from  the  top  of  the  canyon  to  bed- 
rock in  the  foundation  is  about  200  feet.  Above  this  canyon 
the  valleys  of  both  streams  widen  out  and  form  a  reservoir  site  of 
large  capacity.  The  site  is  called  the  "Pathfinder,"  on  account  of 
a  tradition  that  Gen.  John  C.  Fremont,  popularly  known  as  "  The 
Pathfinder,"  passed  through  this  canyon  on  one  of  his  exploring 
trips. 

Pathfinder  Tunnel— To  divert  the  flow  of  the  river  during  the 
construction  of  the  dam,  and  to  serve  as  an  outlet  for  the  reservoir 
after  its  completion,  a  tunnel  was  driven  by  contract  through  the 
northerly  abutment  of  the  dam,  and  was  provided  with  gates  of 
large  capacity  to  regulate  the  outflow. 

Preliminary  Work,— Bids  for  the  construction  of  the  dam  were 


176  NORTH    PLATTE    PROJECT 

opened  June  15,  1905,  and  the  contract  was  soon  after  awarded 
to  the  lowest  bidder.  During  the  latter  part  of  June  the  con- 
tractors went  to  the  dam  site,  decided  that  their  price  was  too  low, 
and  failed  to  qualify.  The  delay  incident  to  the  necessity  of 
readvertising  was  unfortunate,  as  it  threw  the  preliminary  con- 
struction work  into  the  winter. 

Bids  were  again  opened  August  16  and  the  contract  awarded 
September  1,  1905.  By  the  middle  of  the  month  a  temporary 
camp  was  established;  in  November  sufficient  plant  had  been 
received  to  allow  actual  construction  work  to  begin.  The  con- 
tractor endeavored  to  obtain  a  diversion  dam  by  blasting  loose 
rock  from  the  upper  canyon  walls.  Hundreds  of  tons  of  rock 
were  thus  blasted  off,  but  the  rock  did  not  fall  where  intended, 
and  the  river  bottom,  for  a  large  area,  was  covered  with  large 
stones,  the  crevices  between  which  it  was  impossible  to  fill  and 
the  loose  rock  forming  an  immense  subdrain,  which  later  gave 
some  trouble. 

On  this  foundation,  large  quantities  of  rock,  gravel,  and  earth 
were  placed  with  derricks;  gravel  and  earth  were  dumped  over 
the  upper  face  to  tighten  the  dam,  but  most  of  it  washed  through. 
To  add  to  the  difficulty,  the  weather  was  extremely  cold,  the 
rock  was  coated  with  ice,  and  it  seemed  impossible  to  tighten 
the  dam  by  dumping  material  above  it.  However,  by  building 
other  dams  below  it,  in  steps,  each  dam  going  deeper  than  the 
one  above  it,  the  water  was  eventually  controlled  sufficiently  so 
that  the  leakage  could  usually  be  taken  care  of  by  a  flume  2.5  X  2.5 
and  three  6-inch  centrifugal  pumps.  The  auxiliary  dams  were 
made  of  sandbags  backed  with  earth  and  gravel.  The  flume 
was  built  from  the  lower  dam,  across  the  site  of  the  foundation 
and  terminated  at  a  second  cofferdam  built  below  the  dam  site 
to  prevent  backwater  flooding  it. 

Excavation.— Early  in  January,  1906,  excavation  for  the  foun- 
dation was  commenced.  The  cold  weather  delayed  operations 
and  added  to  the  cost  of  this  portion  of  the  work.  In  addition 
to  the  sand,  gravel,  and  boulders,  it  was  necessary  to  excavate 
large  quantities  of  ice,  and  during  the  coldest  weather,  far 

Jlow  zero,  ice  had  to  be  removed  every  morning.  Five  guy 
ierncks  were  so  placed  that  every  part  of  the  area  to  be  exca- 
vated could  be  reached.  Rock  suitable  for  use  in  the  dam  was 

id  aside  and  other  material  was  dumped  outside  the  temporary 


178  NORTH   PLATTE   PROJECT 

dams  to  strengthen  them.  The  methods  were  efficient,  and  good 
progress  was  made  until  March  25,  when  the  river  rose  sud- 
denly and  caused  the  thick  ice  to  break  up,  flooded  the  dam  site, 
wrecked  the  flume,  and  stopped  operations,  which  could  not  be 
resumed  until  the  following  August. 

An  excellent  foundation  was  finally  secured  at  a  maximum 
depth  of  about  21  feet  below  mean  low  water  and  about  14  feet 
below  the  bed  of  the  jiver.  The  average  depth  of  excavation 
over  the  entire  foundation  was  about  10  feet.  When  rock  bottom 
was  first  exposed  a  perfect  foundation,  already  prepared,  seemed 
assured,  as  the  rock  surface  presented  many  irregularities  and 
dipped  toward  the  heel  of  the  dam,  but  as  the  excavation  pro- 
gressed it  wras  found  that  this  admirable  foundation  was  under- 
laid by  a  mud  seam,  from  1  to  4  inches  thick,  and  contained 
many  transverse  seams.  After  this  layer  of  rock  was  removed, 
sound  bed-rock  was  encountered  which,  with  some  roughening, 
was  very  satisfactory. 

Plant. — The  plant  was  designed  with  the  idea  of  economizing 
as  much  as  possible  in  the  use  of  labor  owing  to  the  great  diffi- 
culty in  obtaining  and  keeping  laborers.  With  this  idea  in  mind 
the  machinery  was  placed  as  compactly  as  consistent  with  effi- 
cient use;  hoisting  engines  were  generally  placed  in  pairs,  under 
the  same  shelter,  so  that  when  engineers  were  scarce  or  when, 
work  was  slack  one  engineer  could  run  both  hoists. 

The  main  power  house,  located  near  the  edge  of  the  canyon 
just  above  the  dam,  contained  three  boilers  with  a  total  capacity 
of  140  horse-power.  Steam  was  delivered  from  these  boilers, 
which  were  coupled  to  a  6-inch  main  pipe  line,  to  the  mixing 
house,  crusher,  derrick  hoists,  steam  drills,  and  to  the  high-pres- 
sure pump  that  furnished  water  from  the  river  to  a  portion  of 
the  plant.  The  plant  included  ten  guy  derricks,  with  60-foot 
masts  and  55-foot  booms,  ten  double-drum  hoisting  engines,  two 
cableways  with  spans  of  350  feet,  having  capacities  of  ten  and 
fifteen  tons  each,  one  air  compressor,  three  steam  drills,  one  No.  4 
gyratory  crusher,  with  elevator  and  screens,  one  No.  2  Ransome 
concrete  mixer,  one  Iroquois  mortar  mixer,  three  6-inch  cen- 
trifugal pumps  with  electric  motors,  one  35-kilowatt  generator, 
and  one  85-horse-power  engine,  which  operated  the  generator, 
crusher,  and  the  concrete  machinery. 

In  order  to  economize  cement  and  secure  the  best  results  the 


PATHFINDER    DAM  179 

specifications  required  all  stone  to  be  laid  in-  beds  of  mortar 
and  the  vertical  joints  to  be  filled  with  concrete.  It  was  accord- 
ingly necessary  to  provide  two  types  of  mixer  and  to  handle  two 
classes  of  product. 

One  of  the  most  difficult  and  expensive  problems  to  meet 
was  that  of  fuel.  Soon  after  the  contractors  commenced  work 
on  the  dam  they  made  arrangements  to  obtain  wood  from  the 
Pedro  Mountains,  eight  to  ten  miles  south  of  the  dam  site.  Sev- 
eral four-horse  teams  were  steadily  employed  hauling  the  wood 
to  the  south  side  of  the  canyon.  It  was  then  loaded  on  a  wood 
rack,  holding  about  one  and  one-half  cords,  taken  across  the 
canyon  by  one  of  the  cableways,  lowered  on  a  car  and  run  out 
to  the  boiler  house.  The  wood  was  pine  and  cedar,  and  five  cords 
a  day,  costing  from  $8  to  $10  per  cord,  were  used  when  all  the 
machinery  was  in  operation. 

The  cars  containing  mortar  or  concrete  were  run  out  under 
the  cableways  and  delivered  by  them  to  the  derricks  on  the  wall. 
When  possible  the  concrete  was  dumped  directly  from  the  cable- 
way.  The  mixing  plant  was  designed  for  compactness,  and,  though 
small,  was  capable  of  furnishing  the  material  as  fast  as  practicable 
to  use  it.  One  man  handling  the  cement  and  another  man  oper- 
ating the  mixers  mixed  eight  hundred  sacks  of  cement  in  a  day 
of  eight  hours,  or  one  hundred  sacks  per  hour;  this  gave  a  limit 
of  225  cubic  yards  of  masonry  in  a  day. 

Practically  all  the  backing  stone  and  stone  for  crusher  was 
obtained  from  the  spillway  excavation.  A  system  of  narrow 
tracks  facilitated  the  handling  of  the  material  taken  from  this 
quarry.  The  stone  blocks  were  thoroughly  washed  with  a  hose 
and  scrubbed  with  a  broom,  placed  on  a  flat  car  and  run  under 
the  larger  cableway  for  delivery  on  the  dam.  Spalls  and  chunks 
from  this  quarry  were  handled  in  the  same  way  except  that 
they  were  loaded  into  iron  skips  or  pans.  The  plant  in  this 
quarry  consisted  generally  of  three  derricks  with  double  drum 
hoisting  engines  and  from  1  to  2  steam  drills,  the  power  coming 
from  the  central  plant. 

Canyon  Wall  Excavation. — The  specifications  required  that 
"the  side  walls  of  the  canyon  shall  be  cut  away  until  they  present 
surfaces  normal  to  the  face  of  the  dam,  suitable,  in  the  judgment 
of  the  engineer,  for  solid  and  safe  junction  with  the  masonry." 
The  south  canyon  wall  presented  no  difficulties  in  attaining  satis- 


18Q  NORTH    PLATTE    PROJECT 

factory  ties.  The  excavation  of  the  north  canyon  wall  was  not 
as  satisfactory  and  was  much  more  expensive.  On  this  side  the 
trend  of  the  seams  was  at  an  angle  of  about  thirty  degrees  from 
a  radial  line  of  the  dam,  necessitating  special  work  to  obtain 
a  suitable  bearing  of  the  masonry  on  the  abutment.  After  the 
masonry  had  been  carried  to  the  top  of  the  north  canyon  wall 
and  excavation  was  in  progress  some  20  feet  back  from  the  edge, 
a  vertical  seam  that  had  been  covered  by  a  layer  of  seamy  rock 
several  feet  thick  was  encountered,  the  up-stream  half  of  which 
was  filled  with  dirt,  apparently  surface  material  that  had  been 
deposited  after  the  immense  slab  of  rock  had  slipped  or  tipped 
from  the  main  body,  while  the  down-stream  portion  was  filled 
with  rock  more  or  less  fissured,  some  of  which  was  removed. 
The  seam  was  cleaned  out  for  a  depth  of  30  feet  by  softening 
the  material  with  water,  then  excavated  by  means  of  a  small 
scraper.  After  thoroughly  cleaning  the  seam  it  was  filled  with  rich 
concrete  mixed  very  wet.  As  the  depth  of  filling  per  day  was 
from  10  to  15  feet,  and  the  material  used  very  wet,  there  could 
be  no  question  but  that  every  void  was  filled  and  that  this  por- 
tion of  the  work  was  as  strong  as  any  other.  If  the  presence 
of  this  seam  had  been  known  before  masonry  had  been  built 
against  the  rock  forming  one  side  of  it,  it  would  probably  have 
been  removed,  but  careful  estimates  show  that  to  have  done  so 
would  have  cost  at  least  $20,000,  while  the  method  adopted  made 
just  as  good  work  at  a  cost  of  only  a  few  hundred  dollars. 

Masonry  Work. — The  first  stone  was  laid  August  15,  1906, 
and  masonry  work  was  continued  until  the  latter  part  of  Novem- 
•bei>_when  cold  weather  made  it  necessary  to  discontinue  this 
portion  of  the  work.  The  top  of  the  masonry  was  then  at  ele- 
vation 5,670,  or  24  feet  above  the  lowest  point  of  foundation, 
and  contained  5,500  cubic  yards  of  masonry.  Work  was  resumed 
early  in  March,  1907,  but  the  work  was  flooded  several  times 
during  March  and  April  and,  as  frequent  repairs  to  the  temporary 
dam  were  necessary,  progress  was  slow.  As  the  work  proceeded 
a  notch  was  left  at  the  south  end  of  the  dam  to  allow  the  spring 
floods  to  pass.  Two  lines  of  36-inch  cast-iron  pipe  were  built 
through  the  dam,  on  a  1  per  cent  slope,  their  inverts  being  at 
elevation  5,676.  The  purpose  of  these  pipes  was  to  carry  the 
low-water  flow  of  the  river  when  operations  in  the  tunnel  necessi- 
tated the  closing  of  its  upper  end.  Masonry  work  was  suspended 


PATHFINDER   DAM  181 

May  22  on  account  of  high  water  until  July  6,  when  the  floods 
subsided  sufficiently  to  allow  of  work  by  racking  up  from  the 
notch.  By  August  16  the  river  had  dropped  sufficiently  to  allow 
of  working  in  this  gap,  but  it  was  necessary  to  repair  the  coffer- 
dam, force  most  of  the  water  through  the  tunnel,  and  care  for 
the  seepage  by  pumping.  The  filling  of  this  notch  consumed 
practically  the  two  months  of  August  and  September,  and  there- 
after the  masonry  was  kept  nearly  level. 

To  provide  additional  waterway  during  the  time  the  tunnel 
was  closed  for  the  installation  of  gates,  an  opening  was  left  through 
the  dam  to  assist  the  36-inch  pipes  in  keeping  the  reservoir  at  a 
low  level.  This  opening  is  4  X  4  feet  with  a  semicircular  top,  tap- 
ering in  the  upper  16  feet  to  a  width  of  6  feet,  4  feet  high  to 
the  springing  line,  and  having  a  semicircular  top  with  a  radius 
of  3  feet. 

Before  bedding  the  stone  on  the  bed-rock,  the  foundation 
was  broomed  over  with  thick  cement  grout,  particular  care  being 
given  the  up-stream  portion;  this  was  also  done  on  the  canyon 
walls  for  the  5  feet  nearest  the  up-stream  face.  The  method  of 
placing  the  material  was  as  follows :  When  the  dam  was  levelled 
up,  a  course  was  laid  on  each  face,  2  to  1  mortar  being  used  on 
the  upper  and  2J^  to  1  on  the  lower  face.  Backing  stone,  vary- 
ing in  size  from  1  to  5  cubic  yards,  were  then  set  as  thickly  as 
possible  between  the  face  courses,  and  where  there  was  not  room 
for  a  fair-sized  stone  a  spall  was  often  placed.  These  stones 
were  always  set  in  a  heavy  bed  of  2J/2  to  1  mortar  and  the  vertical 
joints  filled  with  concrete,  mixed  in  the  proportion  of  1:2^:4, 
except  the  upper  30  feet  of  the  dam,  in  which  a  mixture  of  1 : 3:4.8 
was  used.  Until  March  1,  1909,  the  cement  used  was  .903 
barrels  per  cubic  yard,  the  following  table  showing  the  pro- 
portions of  all  the  materials  entering  into  the  construction  of 
the  dam  at  that  time: 


Per  Cent 

9 

S1.3 

U.3 

38.6 

Stone  (including  spalls)  .  .  . 

48.8 

Soon  after  March  1,  when  the  dam  was  within  30  feet  of  the 
top,  the  remainder  of  the  dam  being  a  gravity  section,  the  con- 


182  NORTH    PLATTE    PROJECT 

crete  mixture  was  changed  by  using  two  and  one-half  instead 
of  three  sacks  of  cement  to  a  batch,  which  gave  the  proportion 
1:3:4.8. 

The  total  quantity  of  cement  used  in  the  construction  of  the 
dam  and  auxiliary  works  was  57,383  barrels. 

The  specifications  called  for  2-inch  joints  for  the  face  stone, 
and  the  stones  were  cut  to  meet  this  requirement,  but  the  joints 
will  not  average  over  !}/£  inches. 

During  the  early  part  of  the  work,  stones  2  feet  thick  were 
used,  as  the  contractors  thought  stones  of  that  size  were  the 
most  easily  handled,  but  when  quarry  No.  2  was  opened  it  was 
found  that  3-foot  patterns  could  be  obtained  more  economically 
and  the  bulk  of  the  stone  cut  after  the  second  season  was  three 
feet  thick.  No  stretchers  were  less  than  3  feet  long  or  2  feet 
deep.  About  one-fourth  of  the  area  was  composed  of  headers, 
which,  according  to  the  specifications  should  be  6  feet  long,  but 
as  it  was  difficult  to  obtain  that  length,  many  were  used  that 
were  only  four  feet  long.  The  face  stones  were  set  in  the  same 
manner  as  backing  stone,  on  a  stiff  bed  of  mortar  and  shaken 
down  until  all  surplus  mortar  floated  out.  The  pointing  of  the 
upper  face  was  very  carefully  done;  joints  were  raked  out  for  a 
depth  of  2  inches  soon  after  setting  the  stone,  and,  while  being 
pointed,  were  thoroughly  scraped,  washed  out,  and  packed  with 
1  to  1  mortar. 

The  top  of  the  dam  has  a  parapet  wall  4  feet  high  and  2  feet 
wide  on  the  up-stream  side  and  a  gas-pipe  railing  3^  feet  high 
on  the  lower  face,  leaving  a  roadway  which  was  given  a  granolithic 
finish. 

On  account  of  the  great  extremes  of  temperature  to  which  the 
masonry  would  be  subjected,  the  question  of  thermal  stresses 
was  carefully  considered.  The  canyon  being  so  narrow  below 
elevation  5,830,  it  was  assumed  that  in  that  portion  the  arch 
shape  and  numerous  joints  would  take  up  the  expansion  and 
contraction,  especially  as  during  the  warmest  weather  the  reser- 
voir would  be  filled  to  this  elevation,  which  would  protect  the 
up-stream  face  while  the  lower  face  would  only  be  exposed  to 
the  sun  a  few  hours  in  the  forenoon  and  consequently  not  subject 
to  extreme  change.  But  above  elevation  5,830,  about  30  feet 
below  the  top,  reinforcement  was  used  near  the  faces  of  the  dam, 
a  flat  deformed  bar  being  placed  in  the  mortar  joints.  The  gen- 


184 


NORTH    PLATTE    PROJECT 


eral  plan  was  to  place  three  2  X  %-inch  slant  rib  bars  in  the 
mortar  when  setting  the  face  stone,  the  outer  bar  being  from 
9  inches  to  1  foot  from  the  face  of  the  stone  and  the  others  1  foot 
apart;  immediately  behind  the  face  stone  a  1^-inch  twisted  bar 
was  bedded  in  the  concrete;  in  the  upper  5  feet  additional  bars 
were  placed.  This  gave  an  area  of  about  4^  square  inches  of 
steel  in  each  3-foot  course,  and  amounts  to  nearly  .25  of  1  per 
cent  for  the  outer  5  feet  of  the  dam.  The  ends  of  the  rods 
were  not  turned  but  were  lapped  from  one  to  1^  feet  on  the 
next  rod.  About  100,000  pounds  of  steel  were  used  in  the  rein- 
forcement. 

Expansion  joints  were  constructed  at  the  ends  of  the  main 
dam.  This  joint  is  merely  a  groove  and  tongue  to  prevent  exces- 
sive leakage,  though  it  is  not  expected  that  much  leakage  will 
occur  at  these  points,  as  the  masonry  will  be  in  expansion  when 
the  reservoir  is  filled  to  this  height.  The  surface  of  the  joint 
first  finished  was  thoroughly  oiled  before  the  next  was  built 
against  it.  Since  filling  the  reservoir,  the  dam  shows  some  sweat- 
ing, but  no  leakage. 

The  final  estimate  given  the  contractors  for  the  construction 
of  the  dam,  including  the  spillway  dam,  gate-house  foundation, 
and  guide  wall,  but  not  including  cost  of  cement  or  reinforcing 
steel,  was  as  follows: 


Work 

Quantity 

Unit 
Price 

Amount 

Masonry 
Excavation 

/Above  5,660  
1  Below  5,660  
Class    1  
{  Class    2  

57,278  cu.  yds. 
2,937     '      ' 
1,959     '      ' 

1,828    '      ' 

S6.25 

9.00 
2.00 
6.00 

$357,987.50 
26,433.00 
3,918.00 
10,968.00 

[Class  3  

9,486     '      ' 

4.00 

37,944.00 

Concrete  .  .  . 

541     '      " 

6.50 

3,516.50 

Hauling  cement  from  Casper  to 

dam  site. 
Extra  work 

56,641  barrels 

3.00 

169,923.00 
15  240  27 

Total  

$625,930.27 

Spillway. — At  the  north  end  of  the  dam  (Fig.  7)  a  natural 
ridge  of  rock,  nearly  level,  at  about  elevation  5,850,  extended 
back  from  the  canyon  for  a  distance  of  400  feet  and  terminated 
in  a  rocky  hill  from  10  to  40  feet  higher.  Advantage  was  taken 
of  these  natural  conditions.  It  was  decided  to  excavate  the 


PATHFINDER   DAM  185 

rock  at  the  north  end  of  this  ridge  to  elevation  5,850  and  use 
the  material  in  the  construction  of  the  dam,  thus  obtaining  an 
adequate  wasteway  at  practically  no  expense,  and  providing  80 
per  cent  of  the  stone  used.  The  finished  spillway  has  an  effec- 
tive length  of  650  feet  and  is  capable  of  passing  at  a  depth  of 
8  feet  over  45,000  cubic  feet  of  water  per  second. 

A  concrete  guide  wall  (Fig.  7)  was  constructed  along  the 
canyon  side  of  the  spillway,  to  prevent  the  water  from  falling 
near  the  toe  of  the  dam;  it  will  confine  the  overflow  to  a  natural 
rock  channel  having  a  10  per  cent  slope. 

Anticipating  the  installation  of  gates  in  the  outlet  tunnel, 
and  the  necessity  for  closing  the  upper  end  of  the  tunnel  while 
that  work  was  being  done,  a  concrete  seat  for  a  timber  bulk- 
head was  built  at  the  tunnel  entrance  before  the  river  was  turned 
into  it.  The  span  being  13  feet  and  the  head  of  water  expected 
about  75  feet,  slots  were  left  at  top  and  bottom  of  the  opening 
for  two  24-inch  I-beams  to  act  as  a  middle  support  to  the  bulk- 
head. The  tunnel  was  driven  with  a  width  of  16  feet  at  the 
intersection  with  the  shafts,  but  the  design  of  the  gates  called 
for  a  chamber  28  feet  wide  by  35  feet  long  by  10  feet  high,  except 
at  the  shaft  where  it  was  50  feet  high.  Before  commencing  this 
excavation,  it  was  necessary  to  close  the  upper  end  of  the  tunnel. 
The  I-beams  were  placed  in  position  with  the  help  of  guy  lines 
fastened  to  the  lower  end;  the  wooden  bulkhead  was  built  above 
water,  the  upper  end  secured  in  place  by  a  hinge,  and  the  other 
end  lowered  into  the  water,  where  it  was  quickly  and  tightly 
closed  by  water  pressure.  The  installation  of  the  gates  presented 
no  special  difficulties.  On  account  of  the  great  weight  of  some 
of  the  castings,  12,800  pounds  being  the  maximum,  and  the 
limited  space  for  handling  them,  progress  was  slow.  The  total 
weight  of  the  castings  and  kindred  material  placed  was  450,000 
pounds.  The  preparation  of  the  chamber  for  their  reception 
involved  the  excavation  of  525  cubic  yards  of  rock  and  the 
placing  of  660  cubic  yards  of  concrete. 

Grizzly— After  the  gates  were  installed  a  grizzly  was  con- 
structed at  the  tunnel  entrance  to  prevent  drift  from  entering 
and  possibly  lodging  in  the  gate  openings.  While  this  was  a 
small  piece  of  work,  it  proved  to  be  one  of  the  most  difficult 
undertaken,  owing  to  its  location.  It  was  impossible  to  get  a 
team  near  the  work  and  transportation  by  boat  was  out  of  the 


PATHFINDER    DIKE  Ig7 

question  on  account  of  the  rapids  at  the  upper  end  of  the  canyon. 
After  a  careful  study  of  the  situation,  a  timber  chute  was  built 
from  the  top  of  the  canyon  to  the  river  bank  below.  This  chute 
was  185  feet  high,  at  an  angle  of  66°  with  the  horizontal,  sus- 
pended mainly  from  the  top  and  braced  every  15  to  20  feet  from 
the  canyon  wall.  A  tripod  with  pulley  was  erected  over  the 
upper  end  of  the  chute  and  a  hand  winch  set  up  100  feet  from 
the  edge  of  the  canyon.  All  the  material  used  was  lowered  down 
the  chute. 

PATHFINDER   DIKE 

A  few  hundred  feet  south  of  the  Pathfinder  Dam,  occurs  a 
low  saddle  in  the  margin  of  the  reservoir  about  30  feet  below  the 
level  of  the  spillway,  and  in  this  gap  has  been  built  an  earthen  dike, 
1,600  feet  long  and  40  feet  in  maximum  height.  It  has  a  core 
wall  of  reinforced  concrete,  and  its  water  slope  is  paved  with 
rock  to  resist  wave  action. 

The  portion  of  this  dike  on  the  water  side  of  the  core  wall  is 
composed  of  a  sandy  clay  loam,  hauled  in  dump  wagons  which  were 
loaded  by  elevating  graders,  and  after  dumping  on  the  dam,  the 
earth  was  spread  by  means  of  road  scrapers  into  6-inch  layers,  and 
rolled  with  a  traction  engine.  This  engine  was  employed  one  shift 
per  day  in  drawing  the  elevating  grader,  and  on  the  other  shifts 
was  used  for  rolling  not  only  the  half  of  the  dam  that  it  helped 
to  build,  but  the  lower  half  also.  The  latter  was  composed  of 
gravel  e.xcavated  from  a  bank  southwest  of  the  dike,  and  hauled 
in  dump  wagons.  This  structure  was  built  in  1910  by  Govern- 
ment forces. 

WHALEN    DIVERSION    DAM 

The  water  for  the  North  Platte  Project  is  diverted  near 
Whalen,  by  a  concrete,  overflow,  ogee  weir,  founded  on  rock, 
designed  as  shown  in  Fig.  64.  Provision  is  made  for  taking 
water  from  both  ends  of  the  dam,  and  two  sluice-gates  are 
provided  at  each  end  for  clearing  the  entrance  to  the  canals. 
The  headgates  of  the  Interstate  Canal  are  placed  at  right  angles 
to  the  dam,  and  are  of  cast  iron,  nine  in  number,  working  in  a 
structure  of  concrete.  They  are  shown  in  Figs.  65  and  66. 

Dam  No.  1. — The  dam  which  forms  the  first  reservoir  in  the 
valley,  or  Lake  Alice,  is  an  earthen  structure  about  28  feet  in 


DAM    NO.    1  189 

maximum  height,  and  3,200  feet  long.  It  has  a  top  width  of 
20  feet,  the  water  slope  is  3  to  1,  and  the  down-stream  slope  2^ 
to  1.  The  water  slope  is  riprapped  with  rough  rock  pitching 
2}/2  feet  thick  to  protect  the  slope  from  wave  action.  The  down- 
stream slope  to  the  extent  of  %  of  the  embankment  is  of  Brule 
clay  and  the  remainder  of  the  dam  is  a  sandy  loam,  which  was 
wetted  and  rolled  in  layers  of  about  8  inches.  At  the  junction 
of  the  two  classes  of  material,  a  subsurface  drain  of  clay  tile  is 
placed  parallel  to  the  axis  of  the  dam  with  an  outlet  to  the  lower 
toe.  The  drain  is  8-inch  drain  tile  laid  in  a  trench  5  feet  below 
the  ground  surface,  and  covered  with  screened  gravel.  At  intervals 
of  50  feet  along  this  trench,  wells  of  19-inch  diameter  were  sunk 
to  Brule  clay  or  gravel. 

A  cut-off  trench,  from  20  to  30  feet  deep  with  a  bottom  width 
of  6  feet  and  side  slopes  of  1  to  1,  was  carried  down  into  the  Brule 
clay  3  to  5  feet,  and  filled  with  puddled  material.  It  is  located 
about  the  upper  edge  of  the  middle  third  of  the  dam. 

After  this  dam  was  completed  and  water  raised  upon  it,  seep- 
age began  to  appear  in  the  borrow  pits  below  the  dam  and  on 
the  surface  of  the  ground  in  the  vicinity,  but  there  were  no  indi- 
cations of  a  concentrated  flow,  nor  of  any  leakage  whatever 
through  the  dam  itself.  The  leakage  appears  to  pass  under 
the  puddle  trench  through  crevices  in  the  Brule  clay.  Drains 
were  provided  for  the  wet  ground  below  the  dam,  and  the  seepage 
seems  to  be  decreasing. 

The  outlet  consists  of  a  reinforced  concrete  culvert  containing 
three  conduits  4  feet  high  and  3  feet  wide.  The  culvert  has 
cut-off  walls  at  each  end,  and  also  has  three  collars  3  feet  deep 
1  and  15  inches  thick,  to  cut  off  percolation.  There  are  three  gates 
of  cast  iron  controlled  by  hand  power,  and  a  groove  for  flash- 
boards  to  permit  shutting  off  the  water  in  case  repairs  to  the 
gates  become  necessary. 


MINITARE   DAM 

The  Minitare  Dam  is  an  earthen  embankment  with  a  down- 
stream toe  of  gravel.  Its  maximum  height  is  about  55  feet  above 
the  valley,  and  its  length  is  about  3,800  feet.  A  short  distance 
above  the  center  line  it  has  a  cut-off  trench  and  a  core-wall  of 
reinforced  concrete  reaching  to  depths  below  the  surface,  varying 


192  NORTH   PLATTE    PROJECT 

from  10  to  52  feet.  Its  top  width  is  20  feet.  The  earthen  bank 
has  a  slope  of  2^  to  1  from  the  toe  to  the  high-water  line  and 
a  slope  of  2  to  1  above  the  high-water  line,  a  vertical  distance  of 
15  feet,  to  the  top.  The  earth  is  given  a  slope  on  the  down- 
stream side  of  approximately  1  to  1,  and  gravel  is  added  sufficient 
to  flatten  this  slope  to  2^  to  1.  The  water  slope  is  paved  with 
concrete  blocks  extending  16  feet  up  and  down  the  slope  and  8 
feet  longitudinally  of  the  dam.  Under  the  concrete  pavement  is 
a  foot  of  screened  gravel,  and  under  this  a  foot  of  unscreened 
gravel  lying  on  the  earthen  slope.  The  right  abutment  slope 
and  the  central  portion  of  the  dam  are  founded  on  a  sandy  loam 
soil  underlaid  with  Brule  clay  at  depths  varying  from -10  to  20 
feet. 

The  left  abutment  hill  is  composed  mainly  of  gravel,  with 
some  admixture  of  sand.  It  was  the  original  intention  to  carry 
the  core-wall  through  the  loam  soil  and  4  to  5  feet  into  the 
Brule  clay,  but  it  was  found  on  opening  up  the  trench  that  the 
Brule  clay  was  traversed  in  all  directions  with  numerous  open 
cracks  through  which  water  might  flow  with  considerable  free- 
dom, and  it  was  decided  to  carry  the  wall  below  these  cracks 
to  solid  clay.  The  Brule"  clay  is  an  indurated  clay  containing 
some  grit,  and  where  not  fissured  is  practically  impervious  to 
water.  To  reach  solid  material,  it  was  necessary  to  carry  the 
wall  in  some  places  to  a  depth  of  over  60  feet  below  the  surface, 
and  even  so,  the  foundation  developed  some  leakage  when  put 
in  service.  Beneath  the  junction  of  the  earth  and  gravel  of  the 
embankment,  a  tile  drain  was  laid,  parallel  to  the  axis  of  the 
dam,  with  a  discharge  drain  at  the  bottom  of  the  valley  to  carry 
the  drainage  below  the  toe  of  the  dam.  A  channel  lined  with  re- 
inforced concrete  is  provided  around  the  west  end  of  the  dam, 
with  a  capacity  of  1,500  cubic  feet  per  second. 

The  outlet  conduit  is  placed  in  a  trench  cut  in  solid  Brule 
clay,  and  is  of  reinforced  concrete  with  bottom  and  sides  built 
against  the  indurated  clay  in  place,  and  provided  with  cut-off 
collars  every  25  feet,  about  30  inches  deep  and  18  inches  thick. 
The  top  is  arched  to  an  interior  radius  of  4  feet,  and  the  bottom 
invert  to  a  radius  of  8  feet,  with  straight  sides  about  3  feet. 

After  the  Minitare  Reservoir  was  placed  in  service,  some 
seepage  water  appeared  in  the  country  below,  and  several  springs 
developed  about  400  feet  from  the  dam,  which  aggregated  from 


MINITARE    DAM 


193 


2  to  3  cubic  feet  per  second.  The  total  seepage  from  the 
reservoir  was  not  excessive  and  decreased  with  time,  as  it  nor- 
mally should,  but  the  concentration  of  a  portion  in  large  springs 
so  near  the  dam  was  undesirable  and  means  were  adopted  for 
diminishing  the  specific  leakage  referred  to  on  the  theory  that 
the  water  had  found  open  seams  in  the  Brule  clay  passing  under 
the  core-wall  near  the  center  of  the  dam,  where,  owing  to  a  rise 
in  the  surface  of  the  Brule  clay,  the  core-wall  had  not  been  car- 
ried as  deep  as  at  other  places,  and,  moreover,  was  only  from 
16  to  22  feet  in  the  clay  as  against  30  to  40  feet  at  other  points. 
To  fill  the  crevices  in  the  clay  at  this  place,  a  number  of  holes 
were  drilled  down  through  the  dam  just  above  the  core-wall  at 
intervals  of  10  feet,  and  were  treated  with  a  grout  of  fine  sand 
and  cement  pumped  into  them  under  pressure.  These  measures 
were  successful  in  practically  stopping  the  leakage. 

FINAL  ESTIMATES  OF  CONTRACT  FOR  CONSTRUCTION  OF  MINITARE  DAM 


Item 


Quantity 


1     Preparing  surface 

17,724  acres 

$200.00 

$3,544.80 

2     Cut-off  trench   Cl  A 

104,162  cu.  yds. 

.35 

36,456.70 

2A  Cut-off  trench,  Cl.  A  excess  of 

10'  depth  

442,397   "     "ft. 

.02 

8,847.94 

3     Cut-off  trench,  Cl.  B  

9,362   "     " 

1.00 

9,362.00 

3A  Cut-off  trench,  Cl.  B  excess  of 

10'  depth  

137,376   "     "ft. 

.03 

4,121.28 

4     Excav.  drain  &  toe  trench  Cl.  A 

6,563   "     " 

.60 

3,937.80 

4A  Excav.  dram  &  toe  trench  Cl. 

A  in  excess  of  8'  depth  

690   "     "ft. 

.02 

13.80 

5     Drain  trench,  Cl.  B  

135   "     " 

1.00 

135.00 

5A  Drain  trench,  Cl.  B  in  excess  of 

8'  depth   

870   "     "ft. 

.03 

26.10 

6     Laying  drain  tile  

4,004  lin.  ft. 

1.00 

4,004.00 

7     Outlet  channel,  Cl.  I  

39,853  cu.  yds. 

.32 

12,752.96 

8     Outlet  channel,  Cl.  II  

7,635   "     " 

.60 

4,581.00 

10     Outlet  conduit,  Brule  

5,277   "     " 

1.00 

5,277.00 

11     Excav.  spillway,  Cl.  I  

46,513   "     " 

.25 

11,628.25 

12     Excav.  spillway,  Cl.  II  
15     Earth  excav.  for  embankment 

2,837   "     " 
522,833   "     " 

.50 
.30 

1,418.50 
156,849.90 

16     Gravel  excav.  for  embankment 

140,814   "     " 

.30 

42,244.20 

17     Trimming  embankment  

6,354   "     " 

.30 

1,906.20 

18     Gravel   for  roadway   and   up- 
stream slope  of  embankmerft 
21     Wells  

15,176   "     " 
572  lin.  ft. 

.45 
.75 

6,829.20 
429.00 

22     Concrete  Masonry,  Cl.  A  
23     Concrete  Masonry,  Cl.  B  
24     Concrete  Masonry,  Cl.  C  
25     Concrete  Masonry,  Cl.  D  
26     Handling  and  Placing  Steel  .  .  . 

9,474  cu.  yds. 
1,684    "     " 
506    "     " 
5,622   "     " 
459,000  Ibs. 

4.60 
6.00 
6.00 
5.00 
.01 

43,580.40 
10,104.00 
3,036.00 
28,110.00 
4,590.00 

Total  .  . 

$403,786.03 

194  NORTH   PLATTE   PROJECT 

SUMMARY  OF  COST 

December  31,  1914 

Nebraska,  Wyoming,  North  Platte  Project 


Feature 

Cost 

Contract, 
Per  Cent 

Government 
Force, 
Per  Cent 

Storage  Works: 
Pathfinder  Reservoir  

$1,795,524.37 

69 

31 

Lake  Alice  Reservoir  
Lake  Minitare  Reservoir  

209,730.19 
464,630.80 

38 
100 

62 

Diversion  Works: 

Whalen  Diversion  Dam  

235,010.54 

62 

38 

Main  Canal  System: 
First  Division  Interstate  

1,028,041.87 

88 

12 

Second  Division  Interstate.  .  . 

849,340.29 

98 

02 

High  line  canal  

142,898.08 

53 

47 

Reservoir  supply  canal  .  . 
Low  lii\*'  canal                      .  •  . 

42,322.07 
226,557.29 

62 

59 

38 
41 

Distribution  System: 
Rawhide  lateral  district  - 

3,819.31 

100 

First  lateral  district  

359,652.94 

46 

54 

Second  lateral  district  

285,034.79 

57 

43 

High  line  lateral  district 

80,793.45 

37 

63 

Reservoir  supply  lateral  dis- 

trict         

75,768.45 

43 

57 

Low  line  laterals  

95,007.69 

45 

55 

Drainage  System: 

Open  and  closed  drains  

98,326.82 

100 

Real  Estate  

26,796.34 

100 

Buildings  

30,466.13 

ie 

84 

Farm  Unit  Subdivisions  

43,511.61 

100 

Miscellaneous    Preliminary    In- 

vestigations and  Survey  

81,114.55 

SALE    OF   STORAGE   RIGHTS 

Before  the  inauguration  of  the  Government  Project  on  the 
North  Platte  River,  the  waters  of  that  river  were  appropriated 
by  ten  canals  in  Wyoming  to  such  an  extent  that  in  low-water 
years  the  river  was  practically  dry  at  the  State  line  in  the  late 
summer,  and  all  the  canals  in  Nebraska  were  then  short  of  water. 
There  are  more  than  forty  canals  in  Nebraska  diverting  water 
from  the  North  Platte,  and  most  of  these  are  short  of  water  in 
the  last  half  of  the  irrigation  season  in  all  ordinary  years,  and 
the  completion  of  their  supply  is  one  of  the  functions  of  the 
Pathfinder  Reservoir,  which  stores  the  winter  flow  and  surplus 
floods  of  spring  and  releases  them  when  needed  in  the  summer  and 
fall.  All  the  more  important  canals  in  Nebraska  have  purchased 
reservoir  rights,  and  thus  completed  their  irrigation  supply. 


SALE    OF   STORAGE   RIGHTS  195 

The  terms  of  the  contract  are  so  drawn  as  to  eliminate  as  far 
as  possible  the  chances  of  future  dispute  and  litigation.  When 
a  district  applies  for  water,  it  is  asked  to  decide  upon  a  curve  of 
delivery  from  day  to  day  during  the  season  which  will  satisfy 
its  needs.  This  demand  curve  is  then  compared  with  the  dis- 


FIG.  68. — Spring  Canyon  Flume,  Interstate  Canal. 

charge  curve  of  the  river,  and  the  demands  of  other  canals  which 
are  prior  in  right  to  the  district  mentioned,  and  from  this  infor- 
mation a  conclusion  is  reached  as  to  how  many  acre-feet  of  water 
are  required  to  complete  the  delivery  curve  requested.  The 
district  agrees  to  pay  for  that  number  of  acre-feet,  and  the  United 
States  agrees  to  furnish  at  the  State  line  the  quantity  of  water 
required  to  fulfil  the  delivery  curve  each  day  in  the  season  for- 
ever, regardless  of  the  season.  It  thus  becomes  unnecessary  to 
distinguish  between  the  natural  flow  of  the  river  and  the  water 
drawn  from  storage.  This  eliminates  a  very  difficult  and  irri- 
tating problem  and  enables  the  United  States  to  utilize  all  avail- 
able supplies,  including  drainage  and  storm  waters,  and,  if  carried 
out  fully,  will  place  the  administration  of  the  waters  of  the  North 
Platte  under  one  management.  The  elimination  of  litigation  in 
this  and  many  other  Western  valleys  is  by  no  means  the  least  of 
the  benefits  conferred  by  the  Reclamation  Act. 


FORT    LARAMIE    CANAL 


197 


AGRICULTURAL   RESULTS 

The  North  Platte  Project  has  an  average  altitude  of  4,100 
feet  above  sea-level,  and  its  soil  varies  from  sand  to  sandy  loam. 
It  is  rather  rolling,  being  in  places  quite  rough  and  difficult  to 
irrigate.  This  is  indicated  by  the  fact  that  6,445  canal  structures 
are  provided  for  the  irrigation  of  129,684  acres  of  land  on  806 
miles  of  canals. 

Seepage  from  the  canals  and  excessive  irrigation  have  caused 
the  rise  of  ground  water  in  some  localities,  but  this  has  been 
largely  remedied  by  drainage,  thirteen  miles  of  open  and  nine 
miles  of  closed  drains  having  been  constructed. 

Notwithstanding  the  difficulties,  the  development  of  agricul- 
ture has  been  good  and  fairly  steady.  This  development  has 
been  as  follows: 


1910 

1911 

1912 

1913 

1914 

1915 

Area  for  which  ser- 

vice was  prepared 
to  supply  water.  . 
Area  irrigated  .... 

87,994 
48,537 

96,898 
49,411 

103,837 
55,631 

109,272 
63,366 

109,341 
67,700 

129,584 

73,881 

Miles  of  canals  op- 

erated   

487 

534 

602 

648 

652 

806 

Number    of   farms 

111 

908 

944 

1,050 

The  delivery  of  water  on  the  North  Platte  Project  has  thus 
far  been  on  a  continuous  flow  plan  almost  entirely,  the  rotation 
method  not  having  been  introduced  to  any  considerable  extent. 


FORT   LARAMIE   UNIT 

Construction  has  recently  been  started  on  a  canal  heading 
at  the  Whalen  Dam  on  the  south  side  of  the  river.  This  canal 
will  have  about  twenty-five  miles  of  heavy  construction,  includ- 
ing three  tunnels  aggregating  8,550  feet  in  length.  It  will  cross 
the  Goshen  Park  and  irrigate  about  55,000  acres  in  Wyoming, 
mostly  State  and  public  land,  and  about  45,000  acres  in  Nebraska, 
mostly  private  land.  It  can  later  be  extended  to  cover  more 
land  in  Nebraska  should  the  water  supply  prove  sufficient. 

The  Pathfinder  Dam  was  built  by  E.  H.  Baldwin,  and  the 
Interstate  Canal  by  John  E.  Field,  under  general  direction  of 


FORT   LARAMIE   UNIT 

C.  E.  Wells,  Supervising  Engineer.  The  major  part  of  the  dis- 
tribution system  and  the  Minitare  Dam  were  built  by  Andrew- 
Weiss,  under  direction  of  R.  F.  Walter,  as  Supervising  Engineer. 
The  Fort  Laramie  Canal  is  under  the  immediate  charge  of 
O.  T.  Reedy. 


CHAPTER  XII 
TRUCKEE-CARSON  PROJECT 

DESCRIPTION 

The  irrigable  lands  and  most  of  the  works  of  the  Truckee- 
Carson  Project  lie  in  western  Nevada  in  the  basins  of  the  Truckee 
and  Carson  Rivers,  which  furnish  the  principal  water  supply. 
The  natural  drainage  of  the  Truckee  River  is  into  Pyramid  and 
Winnemucca  Lakes,  and  the  two  outlets  of  the  Carson  natur- 
ally empty  into  Carson  Lake  and  Carson  Sink.  None  of  these 
lakes  have  any  outlet  to  the  ocean,  but  dispose  of  their  waters 
entirely  by  evaporation. 

The  water  supply  available  from  the  Truckee  is  larger  than 
that  from  the  Carson,  but  the  latter  has  a  much  greater  area 
of  valley  land  available  for  irrigation,  so  it  becomes  desirable 
to  take  water  from  the  Truckee  into  the  Carson  basin. 

Although  these  basins  are  quite  distinct,  there  is  a  low  pass 
between  them,  just  east  of  Wadsworth,  through  which  it  is  fea- 
sible to  carry  the  water  in  a  canal. 

On  the  headwaters  of  the  Truckee  River  are  a  number  of 
small  lakes  and  other  small  reservoir  sites,  and  one  very  large 
one,  Lake  Tahoe,  which  are  available  for  storing  the  flood  waters 
of  their  respective  drainage  areas  which,  however,  aggregate  less 
than  half  the  mountain  drainage  area  of  the  Truckee  River. 

The  Carson  River  basin  is  not  so  well  supplied  with  storage 
facilities  on  its  headwaters,  but  has  a  good  reservoir  site  on  its 
lower  trunk  at  Lahontan. 

There  is  considerable  irrigation  by  private  enterprise  on  the 
Upper  Truckee  in  the  neighborhood  of  Reno,  Nevada,  and  the 
water  is  all  approprfated  for  this  purpose  in  the  latter  part  of 
the  season  in  ordinary  years.  Lake  Tahoe  is,  accordingly,  being 
utilized  as  a  storage  reservoir. 

A  large  number  of  small  canals  have  been  built  in  the  valleys 
of  the  Upper  Carson,  and  several  in  the  lower  valleys.  Many  of 
these  canals  were  dry  in  the  late  summer  in  years  of  ordinary 
200 


LAKE    TAHOE    RESERVOIR  201 

or  short  supply  before  the  advent  of  the  Reclamation  Service, 
and  nearly  all  were  short  in  low-water  years. 

Large  irrigation  development  in  the  Carson  Valley  depended 
therefore  upon  the  storage  of  such  flood  waters  of  the  Carson  as 
remained  unappropriated,  and  upon  bringing  available  waters 
from  the  Truckee  Basin,  which  also  consisted  mainly  of  unregu- 
lated floods  and  the  winter  flow. 

A  diversion  dam  has  been  built  on  Truckee  River  near  Derby, 
Nevada,  and  a  canal  of  1,200  second-feet  capacity  at  the  head 
carries  the  water  to  the  bench  lands  east  of  Wadsworth  and  to 
the  reservoir  that  has  been  provided  near  Lahontan  on  the  Carson 
River. 

The  waters  released  from  the  Lahontan  Reservoir  are  diverted 
from  the  Carson  River  by  a  concrete  diversion  dam  about  five 
miles  below  the  reservoir  into  a  canal  of  1,800  second-feet  capacity 
on  the  right  bank  and  one  of  300  second-feet  capacity  on  the 
left  bank. 

LAKE  TAHOE  STORAGE  WORKS 

Lake  Tahoe  has  an  elevation  above  sea  level  of  6,225  feet 
and  an  area  of  about  193  square  miles,  about  one-third  in  Nevada 
and  two-thirds  in  California. 

About  326  square  miles  of  high  Sierra  Mountain  slopes  drain 
into  the  lake.  The  outlet  is  at  the  northwest  extremity  on  the 
California  side,  where  the  main  Truckee  River  begins.  The 
river  runs  first  in  a  northerly  and  then  a  northeasterly  direction 
and  crosses  the  State  line  into  Nevada  near  Floriston.  In  this 
vicinity  are  a  number  of  power  plants  which  use  the  waters  of 
the  Truckee  River  for  the  development  of  water  power. 

In  order  to  regulate  the  outflow  from  the  lake,  a  low  crib 
dam  was  constructed  across  its  outlet  many  years  ago,  and  this 
was  used  to  control  the  ilow  for  the  flotation  of  logs  and  later  for 
the  use  of  the  power  plants  near  Floriston.  These  works  were 
temporary  in  nature  and  inadequate  in  capacity  to  fully  utilize 
the  storage  capacity  of  the  lake,  and  the  United  States  has  ac- 
quired the  outlet  and  constructed  a  concrete  dam  provided  with 
gates  of  large  capacity  so  that  the  level  of  the  lake  can  be  closely 
regulated  at  will. 

The  structure  consists  of  a  series  of  seventeen  gates  separated 
by  piers  18  inches  thick,  each  gate  having  5  feet  clear  span,  and 


202  TRUCKEE-CARSOX    PROJECT 

a  height  of  4  feet  from  the  sill  to  a  curtain  wall  extending  upward 
10  feet  to  the  level  of  extreme  high  water.  The  piers  extend 
18  feet  up-  and  down-stream,  and  the  river-bed  between  is  paved 
with  concrete.  The  river-bed  for  a  distance  of  15  feet  down- 
stream from  the  structure  is  paved  with  grouted  riprap,  and 
the  sides  are  finished  to  a  \y%  to  1  slope  and  protected  with  grouted 
paving.* 

The  power  plants  on  Truckee  River,  of  course,  require  water 
the  year  round,  and  as  fall  and  winter  constitute  the  low-water 
season,  the  draft  on  the  storage  in  Lake  Tahoe  is  greatest  at  that 
time,  and  would  be  entirely  lost  to  irrigation  unless  stored  else- 
where. To  save  this  water  and  also  to  store  the  flood  waters 
of  the  Truckee  and  Carson  Rivers,  the  storage  reservoir  has 
been  constructed  on  the  lower  Carson  River,  at  Lahontan,  re- 
ceiving its  most  reliable  water  supply  through  a  canal  from  the 
Truckee. 

TRUCKEE   MAIN    CANAL 

The  main  canal  from  the  Truckee  to  the  Carson  River  heads 
about  ten  miles  above  Wadsworth,  and  is  employed  for  the  irri- 
gation of  lands  near  Fernley  and  to  carry  water  to  the  Lahontan 
Reservoir,  which  depends  mainly  upon  this  source  for  its  water 
supply. 

The  river  at  the  diversion  point  crowds  the  mountainside 
on  its  right  bank,  and  leaves  a  small,  gradually  sloping  valley 
on  the  left.  The  diversion  is  made  by  a  long,  earthen  dike  across 
the  valley  and  a  concrete  structure  in  the  river-bed,  consisting 
of  a  series  of  sixteen  gates  of  5-foot  horizontal  opening,  with 
5-foot  piers  between,  making  the  distance  between  abutments 
155  feet. 

The  vertical  openings  are  15  feet  high,  10  feet  of  which  are 
closed  by  the  gates,  and  above  these  flash-boards  are  used.  Each 
gate  is  in  two  leaves,  one  above  the  other,  which  it  slightly  over- 
laps. The  hand-operated  gate  stem  engages  the  lower  leaf  only, 
so  that  in  starting  only  half  the  friction  and  half  the  weight  have 
to  be  overcome.  When  the  lower  leaf  has  risen  4%  feet,  a  lug 
engages  the  upper  leaf,  which  is  then  moved  usually  without 
water  pressure. 

The  head-gates  of  the  canal  are  eight  in  number,  and  placed 
at  right  angles  to  those  in  the  river,  the  two  sets  of  gates  and 


204  TRUCKEE-CARSON    PROJECT 

their  foundations  forming  one  structure  and  using  one  abutment 
in  common. 

The  concrete  foundation  is  8.8  feet  thick  and  30  feet  wide 
up  and  down  stream,  resting  on  a  natural  bed  of  gravel  and 
boulders.  It  is  about  171  feet  long,  or  about  25  feet  greater  than 
the  width  of  the  river-bed.  About  two  feet  down-stream  from 
the  upper  edge  of  the  foundation,  a  row  of  interlocking  steel  piling 
was  driven  into  the  gravel  a  depth  of  about  8  to  10  feet.  The 
piles  are  built  up  of  channels  of  ^-inch  steel  15  inches  wide, 
weighing  33  pounds  per  linear  foot.  The  pile  cut-off  extends 
a  short  distance  beyond  the  foundation  on  each  side.  The  piles 
extend  upward  into  the  concrete  from  two  to  four  feet,  the  total 
length  of  each  pile  being  12  feet.  For  a  distance  of  30  feet 
down-stream  from  the  foundation  the  river-bed  was  ^aved  with 
large  rock. 

After  this  dam  was  placed  in  operation,  a  great  flood  occurred 
in  1906,  far  beyond  previous  records,  carrying  a  large  amount 
of  drift.  As  a  result  of  this  experience,  it  was  thought  advisable 
to  remove  the  top  of  one  pier  in  order  to  provide  automatic 
passage  for  drift.  A  pier  near  the  left  abutment  was  removed 
down  to  an  elevation  2  feet  lower  than  the  level  of  water  in  the 
canal  running  full,  and  the  top  sections  of  the  two  adjacent  gates 
were  also  removed.  A  wooden  sill  10"  X  12"  was  placed  on  top 
of  the  adjacent  piers  spanning  the  opening,  and  to  support  the 
tops  of  needles  employed  to  close  the  opening  at  low  water. 
By  removing  this  sill  and  the  needles,  a  clear  opening  15  feet 
wide  and  21  feet  high  is  obtained,  and  this  opening  is  17}/2  feet 
in  the  upper  6  feet.  This  seems  to  be  sufficient  passage  for  drift. 

In  the  head-works  of  the  canal  are  nine  gates,  each  having  a 
clear  span  of  5  feet,  with  piers  2  feet  wide  between,  which  are 
built-up  steel  girders  encased  with  concrete.  These  are  sur- 
mounted by  a  deck  64  feet  long,  which  is  also  a  girder,  imbedded 
in  concrete,  and  serves  not  only  as  a  deck  to  carry  the  gate  stands, 
but  acts  as  a  beam  to  take  one-third  the  horizontal  thrust  of  the 
high  water.  The  sill  of  each  gate  is  2.7  feet  above  the  bed  of 
the  canal  and  3.7  feet  above  the  sills  of  the  sluice-gates  of  the 
dam,  in  order  to  facilitate  sluicing  of  gravel  and  sand  through 
the  dam. 

On  the  river  side  of  the  head-gate  structure  is  a  curtain  wall 
carried  3  feet  below  the  foundation  to  prevent  the  entry  of  water 


TRUCKEE    HEAD-WORKS 


205 


beneath  the  gates.  The  canal  just  below  the  head-gates  has  a 
bottom  width  of  55  feet,  with  vertical  sides  of  concrete,  and 
gradually  changes  by  warped  surface  to  a  bottom  width  of  20 
feet,  with  side  slopes  of  \y2  to  1.  Just  below  the  head  works, 
on  the  river  side  of  the  canal,  is  a  spillway  lip  100  feet  long  at  the 


FIG.  72. — Waste-gates,  Main  Truckee  Canal. 


elevation  of  water  level  in  full  canal.  The  canal  for  over  10 
miles  is  in  a  canyon  with  steep  side-hill  construction,  largely  in 
rock,  so  that  for  economy  of  construction  the  section  is  narrow 
and  deep,  the  water  depth  for  full  canal  being  12  feet.  There 
are  three  tunnels  lined  with  concrete  and  a  large  part  of-  the 
canal  is  also  lined  with  concrete.  The  slope  of  the  canal  is  gen- 
erally 1  in  5,000,  and  this  is  increased  to  1  in  2,400  in  hard-rock 
sections  and  to  1  in  1,500  in  tunnels.  The  three  tunnels  are 
respectively  901,  309,  and  1,515  feet  long,  the  tunneling  beginning 
when  the  cut  reaches  about  40  feet  as  a  rule.  The  tunnels  are 
12  feet  wide  and  have  a  water  depth  of  13  feet.  The  bottom  is 
rectangular,  the  sides  vertical,  and  the  top  arched  to  a  radius 


206  TRUCKEE-CARSON    PROJECT 

of  4.35  feet,  springing  11  feet  from  the  bottom.  They  have  a 
theoretical  velocity  of  8  feet  per  second. 

At  a  point  in  the  canyon  4.6  miles  below  the  heading,  a  waste- 
way  is  provided  by  which  to  empty  the  canal  quickly  in  case  of 
a  threatened  break  or  any  other  emergency  requiring  such  action. 
A  basin  is  formed  by  lowering  the  canal  bottom  six  feet  and  widen- 
ing it  on  the  outer  side  to  36  feet,  this  basin  being  45  feet  in 
length. 

The  lower  side  of  the  canal  is  formed  by  a  concrete  wall,  in 
the  bottom  of  which  are  five  gate  openings  each  5  X  5  feet,  regu- 
lated by  radial  gates,  counterweighted  and  arranged  to  be  quickly 
opened.  The  basin  serves  as  a  trap  to  stop  sand  and  silt  travel- 
ing down  the  canal,  and  is  quickly  flushed  out  by  opening  the 
gates,  which,  under  full  head,  have  a  capacity  of  2,400  second-feet. 

Six  miles  from  the  head  of  the  Truckee  Canal  a  turnout  is 
provided  to  let  out  200  second-feet  for  use  on  the  Pyramid  Lake 
Indian  Reservation  north  of  the  Truckee  River,  which  will  be 
crossed  here  by  means  of  a  pressure  pipe.  In  addition  to  the 
head-gates  of  the  Pyramid  Lake  Canal,  the  same  structure  con- 
tains a  set  of  six  check  gates  across  the  main  canal.  All  these 
gates  are  similar  to  those  at  the  head  of  the  canal. 

The  canal  capacity  below  the  Pyramid  Lake  turnout  is  reduced 
to  1,000  cubic  feet  per  second,  which  continues  with  occasional 
slight  reductions  to  the  end  at  Lahontan  Reservoir,  which  it 
reaches  with  a  nominal  capacity  of  about  800  cubic  feet  per 
second.  On  the  way  the  canal  serves  about  12,000  acres  of  land 
in  the  vicinity  of  Fernley. 


LAHOXTAN   RESERVOIR 

The  drainage  area  of  the  Carson  Basin  above  Empire  is  about 
988  square  miles,  of  which  the  greater  portion  is  the  eastern 
slope -and  foothills  of  the  Sierra  Nevada  Mountain  Range.  The 
area  at  Lahontan  is  somewhat  greater,  but  the  increment  of  reli- 
able water  supply  between  these  points  is  small  owing  to  the 
desert  character  of  the  additional  area,  and  is  more  than  offset 
in  the  low-water  season  by  losses  from  the  river-bed.  The  river 
is  more  often  dry  at  Lahonton  than  at  Empire.  The  reservoir 
when  filled  covers  an  area  of  12,000  acres  and  has  a  capacity 
of  290,000  acre-feet.  The  storable  run-off  often  falls  below  100,000 


LAHONTAN   DAM 


207 


acre-feet  in  a  year,  and  the  reservoir  has  in  such  years  to  depend 
mainly  on  the  Truckee  River  through  the  Truckee  main  canal 
for  its  water  supply. 

Lahontan  Dam. — This  is  one  of  the  most  unique  and  inter- 


FIG.  73. — Plan  of  Lahontan  Dam,  Carson  River,  Nevada. 

esting  structures  built  by  the  Reclamation  Service.  It  is  an 
earthen  dam  built  in  a  river  with  a  recorded  flood  of  20,000  cubic 
feet  per  second,  and  a  possible  flood  of  twice  that  amount.  The 
dam  site  is  at  a  point  where  the  Carson  River  cuts  through  a 


208 


TRUCKEE-CARSON   PROJECT 


gorge  about  8  miles  south  of  Hazen,  Nevada.  The  right  bank 
rises  abruptly  about  125  feet,  as  a  bluff  of  broken  and  seamy  rock, 
inclined  in  all  directions  and  badly  faulted.  The  left  bank  rises 
rather  abruptly  for  50  feet,  where  a  gently  sloping  bench  occurs, 
350  feet  wide,  above  which  another  steep  rise  of  75  feet  occurs. 
Both  sides  slope  gently  from  the  bluffs  to  the  foothills,  which 
are  about  a  mile  from  the  river  on  the  north  and  2  miles  on  the 
south. 

The  borings  showed  the  foundation  to  be  similar  to  the  abut- 
ments and  revealed  movement  of  underground  waters  and  some 
artesian  flow. 

The  surface  soil  of  the  mesas  is  an  extremely  fine  silt  com- 
posed of  70  per  cent  fine  sand  and  30  per  cent  of  clayey  material, 
to  a  depth  of  3  or  4  feet,  under  which  is  a  layer  of  sandy  gravel 
from  8  to  15  feet  thick,  and  below  this  a  clay  or  sandy  clay. 

Percolation  tests  were  conducted  with  silt  and  gravel  mixed 
in  different  proportions  to  determine  that  most  suitable  to  serve 
as  a  facing  for  the  dam. 

RATES  OF  PERCOLATION  IN  GALLONS  PER  ACRE  PER   DAY  THROUGH  3  FEET 
OF  MATERIAL  WITH  3-FooT  Loss  OF  HEAD 


Per  Cent 
Gravel 

Per  Cent 

sat 

Specific 
Gravity 

Per  Cent 
Voids 

Percolation 

85 

15 

2.02 

17.2 

162,000 

50 

50 

2.05 

18.0 

20,000 

0 

100 

1.72 

23.8 

14,000 

The  experiments  showed  that  the  rate  of  percolation  was 
uniformly  low  with  percentages  of  gravel  of  60  per  cent  or  less, 
but  that  percolation  increased  rapidly  above  that  point.  Also 
that  of  mixtures  showing  a  low  rate  of  percolation,  a  half-and- 
half  silt  and  gravel  gave  the  smallest  percentage  of  voids  and 
maximum  specific  gravity.  That  ratio  was  therefore  adopted 
in  general,  but  occasionally  varied  to  suit  varying  character  or 
coarseness  of  material. 

Grouting— In  order  to  seal  crevices  and  cut  off  percolation 
under  the  dam,  an  extensive  system  of  grouting  was  undertaken. 
A  cut-off  trench  was  excavated  along  a  line  roughly  midway 
between  the  up-stream  toe  of  the  embankment  and  the  axis  of 
the  dam.  This  trench  averaged  about  30  feet  in  depth.  A  con- 


GROUTING    FOUNDATION  209 

Crete  cut-off  wall  was  built  in  this  trench,  the  latter  being  so 
excavated  that  one  side  and  usually  both  sides  could  be  used 
as  concrete  form  and  the  concrete  built  directly  against  it. 

In  the  concrete  cut-off  wall  light  galvanized  pipes  were  built, 
standing  in  two  rows,  3  feet  on  centers  in  each  row,  and  stag- 
gered so  that  one  pipe  occurred  every  18  inches.  These  pipes 
were  5  inches  in  diameter  and  were  used  after  the  concrete  wall 
was  built  for  drilling  and  grouting  into  the  foundation  below 
the  cut-off  wall.  The  casings  were  made  to  project  above  the 
concrete  some  distance,  so  that  it  was  possible  to  carry  on  grout- 
ing operations  with  water  running  over  the  concrete.  The  drill- 
ing was  done  with  a  core  drill  of  2%-inch  outside  diameter,  making 
a  core  1^  inches  in  diameter.  The  steel  calyx  bit  was  used  in 
the  clay  and  very  soft  rock,  and  chilled  shot  equipment  for  the 
harder  rock.  Drilling  was  carried  on  in  three  daily  shifts  of 
eight  hours  each,  and  grouting  in  one  daylight  shift.  The  maxi- 
mum depth  drilled  in  eight  hours  was  19  feet,  while  the  average 
was  six.  The  seamy  broken  ground  caused  much  caving  and 
sticking  of  drills,  and  several  bits  and  a  great  deal  of  time  were 
lost  from  this  cause.  The  holes  were  drilled  from  25  to  70  feet 
below  the  bottom  of  the  30-foot  excavation.  Each  hole  was 
tested  by  piping  into  it  water  from  the  Truckee  Canal  with  127- 
foot  head  above  the  river-bed.  The  pressure  was  continued  for 
about  10  minutes  and  the  rate  of  leakage  was  usually  uniform 
for  each  hole,  but  varied  widely  for  different  holes.  The  grout 
used  was  about  one  part  cement  to  seven  parts  water  except 
when  it  escaped  too  freely,  when  it  was  thickened  until  in  ex- 
treme cases  it  was  about  equal  parts  of  cement  and  water,  and 
where  large  cavities  had  to  be  filled  fine  sand  was  added. 

At  the  beginning  of  each  operation,  a  pressure  of  25  pounds 
per  square  inch  was  applied  to  the  grout,  which  was  increased 
with  subsequent  batches  of  grout  until  100  pounds  was  reached, 
when  the  hole  was  finished. 

Alternate  holes  in  the  up-stream  row  were  first  drilled,  these 
being  6  feet  apart,  and  after  testing  for  leakage  were 
grouted. 

A  few  holes  at  wide  intervals  in  the  second  row  were  drilled 
and  tested  to  try  the  efficacy  of  the  grouting  of  the  up-stream 
row.  As  a  result  only  a  few  holes  were  grouted  in  the  second 
row.  It  was  found  that  the  grouting  of  the  upper  row  made 


210  TRUCKEE-CARSON    PROJECT 

the  drilling  of  the  lower  distinctly  easier,   by  eliminating  the 
tendency  to  cave. 

AVERAGE  LEAKAGE  UNDER  PRESSURE  TEST  AND  AVERAGE  AMOUNT  OF 
CEMENT  USED  IN  GROUTING 


Leakage 
Gallons 
Per  Minute 
Per  Boring 

Sacks 
Cement, 

Primary     holes  (18)  1st  section  
Secondary      "     (17)  1st      "       
Primary         "     (10)  2d       " 

33.1 
5.5 
71  5 

10.3 
12.7 
42  3 

Secondary      "     (10)  2d       " 

28  3 

17  6 

Tertiary         "     (11)  2d       " 

11  2 

4  5 

Second  tertiary  holes  (11)  2d  section 

6  4 

3  7 

COST  OF  GROUTING  LAHONTAN  CUT-OFF 

Linear  feet  of  cut-off  treated 220 

Number  of  holes  drilled  and  grouted 83 

Average  depth  of  holes  drilled  and  grouted,  feet 32 

Total  depth  of  holes  drilled  and  grouted,  feet 2,593 

Total  sacks  cement  used 1,174 

Total  cost  per  foot  of  hole $  3.57 

Total  cost  per  foot  of  cut-off  wall 42.12 

Total  cost  of  boring  and  grouting 9,267.17 

The  material  adopted  was  a  combination  of  silt  and  gravel. 
A  mixture  of  these,  found  to  be  nearly  impervious,  was  used  for 
the  water  face,  and  gravel  was  used  for  the  down-stream  portion, 
the  line  of  demarkation  between  the  two  materials  being  on  a  1 
to  1  slope  from  the  center  of  the  crest  toward  the  up-stream  toe. 

The  main  dam  has  a  top  width  of  20  feet,  a  water  slope  of 
3  to  1  protected  by  12  inches  of  gravel  and  2  feet  of  hand-placed 
rock.  The  down-stream  slope  is  2  to  1,  and  is  covered  by  15 
inches  of  quarry  run  of  rock. 

The  maximum  height  of  dam  is  129  feet,  maximum  base 
thickness  660  feet,  and  a  crest  length  of  900  feet,  or  1,400  feet, 
including  spillways. 

A  spillway  250  feet  long  is  provided  at  each  end  of  the  dam. 
The  spillways  converge  by  means  of  guide  walls,  and  descend 
on  concrete  steps  to  a  central  pool  in  the  river-bed  below  the 
dam,  where  the  two  spillways  discharge  toward  each  other,  de- 
stroying their  energy  in  the  pool,  from  which  the  water  flows 


212  TRUCKEE-CARSON   PROJECT 

quietly  down  the  river.  The  highest  flood  in  the  record  of  twelve 
years  is  about  20,000  cubic  feet  per  second.  This  quantity  of 
water  would  flow  over  the  weir  at  a  depth  of  5.5  feet.  The  top 
of  the  embankment  is  12  feet  above  the  lip  of  the  weir,  and  the 
area  of  the  reservoir  of  12,000  acres  would  have  a  large  regulating 
effect  on  any  flood,  so  that  it  is  believed  that  a  flood  might  occur 
of  three  times  the  above  recorded  volume  without  damage  to 
the  embankment. 

Power-Plant. — The  Truckee  Main  Canal  reaches  Lahontan  at 
an  elevation  about  125  feet  above  the  river-bed,  and  advantage 
was  taken  of  this  fact  to  develop  power  for  construction  pur- 
poses by  dropping  a  portion  of  its  water  through  turbines  below 
the  dam  site.  Two  alternators  of  625  KVA.  normal  rating 
each  were  installed,  and  furnished  light  and  power  for  the  work. 
They  were  actuated  by  two  24-inch  turbines  of  830  horse-power 
capacity  each,  operating  under  110-foot  head. 

The  current  is  generated  at  a  pressure  of  2,300  volts  and  was 
used  in  motors  at  440  volts  for  actuating  drag-line  scrapers,  load- 
ing sand  and  gravel  for  construction  purposes,  and  hoists  and 
other  machinery  connected  with  the  work. 

The  power-plant  was  designed  as  a  permanent  installation 
to  be  used  for  pumping  and  commercial  purposes,  and  has  since 
been  leased  for  such  use  and  enlarged  by  the  addition  of  a  third 
unit  of  the  same  capacity  as  the  others. 

Sand-Cement. — The  spillways,  outlet  works  and  other  concrete 
structures  required  a  total  of  about  60,000  cubic  yards  of 
concrete. 

As  Portland  cement  required  a  long,  expensive  railroad  haul, 
some  experiments  were  made  to  determine  the  suitability  of 
local  materials  for  the  manufacture  of  sand-cement.  The  fine 
silt  found  in  abundance  on  the  mesa  north  of  the  dam  site  proved 
to  be  well  adapted  for  this  use,  and  was  so  fine  as  to  be  suitable 
after  screening  for  direct  mixture  with  the  cement  for  the  final 
grind  through  a  tube  mill.  On  account  of  the  dryness  of  the 
climate  no  dryer  was  installed,  and  this  led  to  some  annoyance 
at  times  after  a  rain,  so  that  the  economy  of  this  omission  is 
doubtful.  The  capacity  of  the  mill  was  about  fifteen  barrels  per 
hour.  It  consisted  merely  of  a  tube  mill  and  some  conveying 
machinery. 

It  was  the  aim  to  so  mix  the  cement  and  silt  that  the  quantity 


LAHONTAN    DAM  213 

of  cement  would  be  slightly  greater  than  of  silt,  in  order  that 
no  local  inequality  should  turn  the  proportion  the  other 
way. 

Good  results  were  obtained  with  this  sand-cement,  but  it  was 
found  to  harden  more  slowly  than  Portland,  so  that  forms  could 
not  be  removed  as  early,  which  tended  to  neutralize  the  economy. 
For  this  reason  on  some  of  the  work  requiring  most  forming, 
Portland  was  used  instead  of  sand  cement.  A  net  estimated 
saving  of  $12,000  was  the  result  of  the  use  of  sand-cement  on 
this  work.  In  general,  it  may  be  said  that  sand-cement  is  adapted 
only  to  large,  massive  structures  like  concrete  dams,  where  the 
forming  is  relatively  small  and  the  yardage  very  large. 

Cableway. — For  handling  materials  and  equipment,  a  cableway 
was  installed  having  a  span  of  1,600  feet.  It  was  mounted  on 
travelling  towers  104.4  feet  high,  running  on  tracks  parallel  to 
the  river,  800  feet  long,  equipped  with  80-pound  rails.  The 
diameter  of  the  cable  is  2%  inches  and  its  capacity  10  tons. 
It  was  equipped  with  a  300-horse-power  motor  using  alternating 
current  at  440  volts.  The  hoisting  speed  was  25  feet  per  minute 
and  carriage  speed  1,200  feet  per  minute. 

The  building  program  provided  for  the  construction,  during 
the  first  year,  of  the  cut-off  curtain  wall  and  the  grouting  of  its 
foundation,  the  construction  of  the  outlet  conduit  and  of  the 
circular  spillway  pool  at  the  lower  toe  of  the  dam,  and  also  for 
the  preparation  of  foundation  and  the  construction  of  the  main 
embankment  to  the  top  of  the  wall  of  the  spillway  pool,  which  is 
a  little  above  the  outlet  conduit.  This  involved  a  large  amount 
of  work,  and  left  the  work  in  a  position  to  safely  pass  through 
a  flood  season,  the  water  passing  mainly  through  the  outlet,  and 
any  excess  flowing  over  the  bank  held  in  place  by  the  wall  of  the 
spillway  pool. 

As  soon  as  the  first  flood  season  was  past,  the  work  was  pushed 
on  the  embankment,  with  the  river  flowing  through  the  outlet 
conduit,  and  before  the  next  flood  season  the  bank  had  reached 
an  elevation  above  the  bench  on  the  left  bank  which  served  as  a 
foundation  for  the  left  spillway.  Work  on  this  spillway  had 
meantime  been  pushed  and  the  concrete  was  placed  in  condition 
to  safely  pass  the  water  of  the  second  flood  season  if  it  should 
exceed  the  capacity  of  the  outlet  works. 

After  the  second  flood  season  was  past,  the  whole  work  was 


214  TRUCKEE-CARSON   PROJECT 

pushed  to  completion  as  fast  as  possible,  and  was  successfully 
completed  without  damage  from  floods. 

Excavation. — Nearly  all  the  excavation  except  the  cut-off  walls 
was  performed  by  two  35-ton  revolving  traction  steam  shovels, 
with  dippers  of  1M  and  1^  yard  capacity,  loading  material  into 
dump  cars.  All  rock  was  blasted  ahead  of  the  shovels,  which 
each  averaged  about  400  cubic  yards  per  working  day. 

The  silt,  sand,  and  gravel  used  in  the  dam  and  concrete  struc- 
tures were  obtained  from  the  smooth  country  to  the  north  of  the 
dam,  and  at  an  elevation  above  its  top.  The  gravel  pit  had  to 
be  stripped  of  a  blanket  of  overlying  silt,  which  was  done  with  a 
56-ton  electric  drag-line  scraper,  with  a  1  ^-cubic-yard  bucket, 
60-foot  boom  and  capacity  of  100  cubic  yards  per  hour.  It  was 
equipped  with  a  95-horse-power  main  motor,  and  50-horse-power 
swinging  motor,  all  motions  being  air-controlled. 

A  60-ton  electric  shovel  was  used  for  excavating  the  gravel 
for  the  main  dam.  The  swing  and  thrust  were  each  operated 
by  a  50-horse-power  motor,  and  the  hoist  by  a  115-horse-power 
motor,  all  actuated  by  alternating  current  at  440  volts. 

The  materials  were  hauled  from  the  borrow  pit  in  4-yard 
dump  cars  running  on  an  endless  circular  track  leading  to  the 
receiving  bins  near  the  left  abutment  of  the  dam.  The  bins 
for  the  dam  materials  had  a  capacity  of  1,000  cubic  yards  and 
the  one  for  the  concrete  materials  200  cubic  yards. 

A  belt  conveyor  18  inches  wide,  operated  by  a  35-horse-power 
motor,  was  used  for  conveying  the  concrete  gravel  from  the  bin 
to  the  screening  plant.  The  gravel  was  screened  to  three  sizes, 
the  sand  passing  a  J^-inch  screen,  the  fine  gravel  an  inch  screen, 
and  coarse  gravel  held  on  the  latter.  The  three  sizes  were  col- 
lected in  distinct  piles  beneath  the  screens,  and  under  these 
a  timber  tunnel  was  constructed  containing  six  adjustable  meas- 
uring hoppers,  two  for  each  size  of  material.  From  these  hoppers 
the  aggregates  were  carried  on  another  belt  conveyor  to  the  mixer. 
The  cement  bin  was  located  over  this  same  belt.  The  water 
for  mixing  was  obtained  by  means  of  a  gravity  pipe  line  direct 
from  the  Truckee  Canal.  A  boiler  heated  the  water  for  use  in 
cold  weather. 

The  concrete  was  mixed  in  a  1^-yard  mixer  operated  by  a 
30-horse-power  motor.  The  mixer  discharged  directly  into  a  2}4- 
yard  bottom  dump  bucket  on  a  flat  car,  two  batches  filling  a 


LAHONTAN    DAM  215 

bucket.  This  car  was  hauled  by  a  horse  on  a  track  parallel  to 
the  tracks  of  the  cable  tower  and  of  equal  length  thereto. 

A  hopper  tower  was  erected  to  receive  the  concrete  from  the 
dump  bucket,  and  the  concrete  poured  to  place  through  a  mov- 
able tubular  spout.  The  hopper  tower  was  moved  from  place 
to  place  by  means  of  the  cableway.  All  concrete  was  covered 
by  burlap  sheets  and  kept  wet  for  10  days.  The  concrete  was 
generally  proportioned  as  1  part  cement,  2^  sand,  5J^  gravel 
well  graded. 

Embankment  Materials. — The  receiving  bins  for  gravel  and  silt 
for  the  embankment  were  side  by  side,  and  had  a  36-inch  belt 
conveyor  running  lengthwise  under  the  center  line  between  the 
two  bins,  so  that  material  could  be  discharged  upon  it  from 
either  bin.  The  material  was  fed  to  the  belt  by  twelve  recipro- 
cating adjustable  feeders,  so  that  the  gravel  and  silt  could  be  pro- 
portioned as  desired  on  the  belt.  This  conveyor  fed  to  a  30- 
inch  belt  at  right  angles  to  it,  which  carried  the  material  900 
feet  to  a  distributing  bin  in  a  central  position  on  the  dam,  from 
which  it  was  deposited  by  chutes  into  dump  wagons  and  hauled 
to  place. 

The  material  was  spread  by  Fresnoes  in  3-inch  layers,  and  rolled 
by  two  10-ton  traction  engines.  The  gravel  fill  in  the  down- 
stream portion  of  the  dam  was  dry-rolled,  while  the  tight  por- 
tion of  mixed  silt  and  gravel  was  sprinkled  before  rolling.  Adja- 
cent to  all  hillsides  and  structures  silt  was  used  and  well  puddled. 

The  water  slope  of  the  dam  was  covered  with  12  inches  of 
gravel,  and  this  was  covered  with  2  feet  of  hand-placed  rock 
paving. 

The  rock  was  obtained  about  one  mile  from  the  dam,  where 
a  quarry  was  opened  in  a  hill  of  basalt  rock.  Tunnels  were  run 
into  this  hill,,  and  about  30,000  cubic  yards  of  material  loosened 
in  one  blast.  One  of  the  3§-ton  steam  shovels, was  used  for 
loading  the  rock  on  flat  cars,  which  were  hauled  to  the  dam 
on  a  narrow-gage  track. 

Outlet  Works. — The  outlet  works  consist  of  twin  conduits  of 
horseshoe  shape,  9  feet  in  diameter,  of  heavily  reinforced  concrete. 

Cut-off  collars  completely  encircle  the  structure  3  feet  deep 
and  18  inches  thick  at  varying  intervals  to  prevent  seepage  along 
the  structure.  The  conduit  is  located  along  the  left  bank  of 
the  river,  has  a  grade  of  1  per  cent,  and  is  designed  to  carry  2,000 


Elev.417*. 


: 

<      iir-^-o'^/Vi^XXW-VeV^T-'ov^^-^y-^ 

i  1  r* — — i \r28-0 '  * ?{ 


AXIS  OF  VALVE  AND  OUTLET  TUBE 

FIG.  75. — Outlet  Works,  Lahontan  Dam,  Carson  River,  Nevada. 


LAHONTAN   DAM  217 

second-feet  of  water.     It  discharges  into  the  spillway  pool  at 
elevation  4,055. 

The  flow  is  regulated  by  a  system  of  gates  and  valves  installed 


Scale  of  Feet 


FLOOR  PLAN  AT  ELEV.  4174 


HORIZONTAL  SECTION  ELEV.  4150 

FIG.  75a. 


in  a  gate  tower  near  the  up-stream  toe  of  the  dam  on  the  left 
bank  of  the  river.  The  tower  is  a  double  vertical  tube  of  rein- 
forced concrete,  each  tube  being  14  feet  in  diameter. 

At  the  head  of  each  conduit  is  a  curved  cast-iron  pipe  or 


218  TRUCKEE-CARSON    PROJECT 

"gooseneck,"  7  feet  in  diameter,  to  change  the  direction  of  flow 
from  the  vertical  drop  in  the  tower  to  horizontal  discharge  into 
the  conduit.  At  the  top  of  this  gooseneck  is  the  main  control 
valve,  which  works  like  a  piston  rod.  The  upper  end  of  the  ver- 
tical piston  rod  slides  into  a  metal  cap  or  dome  about  9  feet  in 
diameter  and  3^  feet  deep,  rigidly  attached  to  the  tower  by 
means  of  brackets.  The  piston  rod  is  hollow,  8  feet  in  diameter 
and  3  feet  long,  and  works  up  and  down  within  the  cap. 

When  the  valve  is  closed  the  water  pressures  around  the 
cylinder  are  balanced.  As  the  piston  rod  is  raised  within  the 
cap,  the  water  rushes  in  uniformly  around  the  circle,  and  falls 
down  the  "gooseneck"  to  the  water  cushion.  Three  sets  of 
standard  vertical  lift  gates  are  provided  for  admitting  water  to 
the  tower.  At  elevation  4,060  are  two  3'  X  3'  sluice-gates,  one 
to  each  valve  chamber.  Ten  feet  higher  each  tower  is  provided 
with  three  standard  gates  each  3  feet  wide  and  8  feet  high.  An- 
other similar  set  of  gates  to  each  tower  is  provided  46  feet 
higher,  or  46  feet  below  the  spillway  lip.  Water  is  admitted 
to  the  tower  at  all  times  through  the  highest  available  gates. 

The  movement  of  the  gates  is  accomplished  by  means  of  oil- 
operating  cylinders,  one  for  each  gate,  located  in  the  tower  house. 
An  electric  motor  coupled  to  a  triplex  pump  furnishes  the  power. 

Each  conduit  is  provided  with  an  air  duct  2'  X  3',  just  below 
the  "gooseneck,"  extending  to  the  open  air  above  the  reservoir, 
which  admits  air  to  the  conduits  and  relieves  the  tendency  to 
vacuum. 

Directly  over  the  cylindrical  valves,  and  attached  to  the 
dome  or  cap,  are  12-inch  air  pipes  extending  upward  to  a  point 
above  the  high-water  elevation.  The  supply  of  air  to  these 
pipes  is  regulated  by  slide-gates,  and  these  need  adjustment  to 
changing  conditions.  Too  much  or  too  little  air  causes  vibrations. 

The  outlet  tower  is  connected  with  the  top  of  the  dam  by  a 
suspension  foot-bridge  220  feet  long. 

The  Truckee  Main  Canal  discharges  into  the  reservoir  down 
a  chute  ending  about  50  feet  above  the  ground  and  70  feet  above 
the  river-bed.  The  lower  end  of  the  chute  is  built  as  a  canti- 
lever, and  is  turned  slightly  upward  to  project  the  water  to  the 
maximum  distance  away  from  the  fou  dations  of  the  chute. 
Under  the  fall  was  built  a  concrete  apron,  and  the  vicinity  rip- 
rapped  with  rock. 


m 


l 


220 


TRUCKEE-CARSON    PROJECT 


A  reinforced  concrete  pressure  pipe,  6  feet  in  diameter,  crosses 
the  river  just  below  the  dam,  forming  part  of  the  structure  of 
the  spillway  pool,  connecting  the  Truckee  Main  Canal  with  the 
high  bench  lands  on  the  opposite  side  of  the  river.  It  has  a 
maximum  head  of  140  feet. 

A  power  pipe  4  feet  in  diameter  connects  the  power-house 
with  the  reservoir  at  elevation  4,140,  passing  through  the  dam 
immediately  to  the  north  of  the  left  spillway.  This  can  be  used 
to  supply  water  to  the  power-plant  in  case  of  a  shut-down  of 
the  Truckee  Canal. 

LAHONTAN  DAM — TRUCKEE-CARSON  PROJECT,  NEVADA 


Items 

Quantity 

Unit 

Total 
Cost 

Feature 
Cost 

Main  Dam,  excavation,  C.Y. 

11,318 

1.70 

$19,230.45 

Mixed  embankment  

346,377 

0.56 

194,770.69 

_ 

Gravel  fill  (embankment). 

230,514 

0.46 

106,299.72 

buttresses  

24,920 

0.44 

11,056.67 

"      under  pavement.  . 

10,116 

0.61 

6,190.69 

Paving  Class  3 

24,548 

3.13 

76,792  59 

Miscellaneous  

'674  .51 

$415,015.32 

Cut-Off,  oxcavation  (chan.)  . 

19,417 

0.84 

16,291.92 

Excavation,  (trench)  

7,701 

,4.94 

38,009.97 

Concrete  Class  E 

4,877 

'7.25 

35,407  05 

Backfilling  ! 

3,490 

2.03 

7  J068"  58 

Grouting  under  wall  

9227  24 

106,004  76 

L.  Spillway,  excavation  

100,060 

0.71 

71,148.19 

Concrete,  Class  A  and  B.  . 

23,319 

8.05 

187,424.73 

Backfilling  

2,645 

1.06 

2,809.70 

Paving,  Class  3  .  .  .'  
"           "     2  

590 

4.70 

2,768.90 

* 

Reinforced  steel  (Ibs.).  .  .  . 

345,061 

'6.03 

10,048.07 

Miscellaneous  

2,002.20 

276,201.79 

R.  Spillway,  excavation  .... 
Concrete,  Class  A  and  B.  . 

57,080 
16,531 

Y.17 
6.90 

66,854.23 
114,089.31 

Backfilling  
Paving,  Class  3  
"           "     2  

5,760 
773 

1.05 
4.11 

6,080.12 
3,180.92 

Reinforced  steel  (Ibs.).  .  .  . 
Miscellaneous  
Spillway  Pool,  excavation.  .  . 
Concrete,  Class  A  and  B.  . 
Backfilling  

177,600 

35,142 
13,540 
1,628 

0.03 

1.18 
7.00 
0  78 

5,034.70 
1,378.52 
41,353.64 
94,794.86 
1,265.18 

196,617.80 

Paving,  Class  3  

555 

6  86 

s'gOS  65 

Reinforced  steel  (Ibs.)  .... 
Miscellaneous  
River  Channel,  excavation.  .  . 

42,930 
17,500 

0.04 
6.69 

1,818.89 
1,712.05 
12,003.05 

144,748.27 

Backfilling... 

TI      .          _55    

3,563 

0.49 

1,741.87 

Paving,  Class  3  
Outlet  Conduit,  excavation  .  . 
Concrete,  Class  C  
Reinforced  steel  (Ibs.).  .  .  . 
Miscellaneous  

1,807 
14,821 
5,949 
96,550 

6.05 
1.42 

8.66 

o.as 

10,894.67 
21,032.21 
51,496.90 
2,713.58 
84.00 

24,639.59 
75,326.69 

LAHONTAX    DAM 


221 


LAHOXTAX  DAM— TRUCKEE-CARSOX  PROJECT,  NEVADA 
Continued 


Items 

Quantity         Unit 

Total                '      Feature 
Cost                          Cost 

Outlet  Tower, 

Concrete,  Class  3  
Reinforced  steel  (Ibs.)  .... 
Operating  equipment  (Ibs.) 
Miscellaneous  
Roadway,  Concrete,  bridges  . 
Reinforced  steel  (Ibs.)  
Concrete  roadway  (Ibs.)  .  . 
Reinforced  steel  (Ibs.)  .... 

2,689 
165,363 
440,637 

'  "  1,619 
180,077 

488 
2,990 

14.29 
0.04 
0.12 

13.07 
0.03 
12.79 
0.03 

$38,456.68 
5,849.21 
50,829.28 
623.41 
21,157.83 
4,954.18 
6,243.57 
88.81 

$95,758.58 

Concrete  railing  

135 

38.98 

5,262  .  34 

Reinforced  steel  (Ibs.)  .... 

4,750 

0.03 

116.94 

Lighting  system  
Suspension  Foot-Bridge, 

1,372.94 

39,196.61 

Concrete,  Class  A 

180 

14  17 

O  £K1     OO 

Reinforced  steel  (Ibs.)  

2,201 

0^03 

'  70^28 

Steel  bridge  (Ibs.)  
Lahontan  Dike: 

38,689 

0.12 

4,815.81 

7,437.92 

Embankment 

15,334 

0  31 

4  74O  2Q 

Gravel  covering  
Chute  Protection: 

6J054 

0.'99 

T>  ti\)  .  oy 
5,995.17 

10,735.56 

Excavation 

3,975 

0  45 

1    OAO     Ki5 

Paving,  Class  1  

'l78 

12^40 

2|206;i3 

"      2  

101 

13.11 

1,324.76 

"     3  

2,517 

4.44 

11,179.02 

16,512.47 

Miscellaneous: 

Water  elevation  (pool)  .  .  . 

2,169.65 

Stream  control  

15,247  02 

Reservoir  roads  

514.40 

Reservoir  (clearing) 

3,406.72 

Truckee  Canal  Bridge.  .  .  . 

1^682  '.  17 

23,019  96 

Lahontan  Bench  Unit: 

Excavation  (siphon)  

2,564 

1.15 

2,939.66 

Concrete  (siphon)  

660 

20.73 

13,679.75 

Reinforced  steel  (siphon). 

Ibs  

62,378 

0.04 

2,202.83 

Structural  steel   (siphon), 

Ibs 

344  76 

Backfilling  (siphon)  
Excavation  (canal)  

1,215 
9,758 

0.95 
0.33 

1,159.91 
3,238.04 

Concrete  (sq.  yds)  lining. 
Power  Pipe  Line,  excavation. 

No  lining 
3,445 

placed 
1.35 

212.30 
4,649.54 

23,777.25 

Concrete  

686 

18.98 

13,552.05 

Reinforced  steel  (Ibs.)  .... 

62,853 

0.03 

1,993.79 

Structural  steel  (Ibs.)  

247.85 

Backfilling  

'  2,450 

b'.53 

1,298.21 

21,741.44 

Grand  total  (including  general  expenses)  June  30,  1915.  . 

$1,476,734.01 

222  TRUCKEE-CARSON    PROJECT 


CARSON   DIVERSION   DAM 

The  diversion  works  about  five  miles  below  the  Lahontan 
Dam  closely  resemble  those  on  the  Truckee,  just  described;  the 
principal  difference  being  due  to  the  foundation  which,  instead 
of  gravel  and  boulders  on  the  Truckee,  is  sand  and  silt  and  some 
gravel  on  the  Carson. 

The  dam  is  225  feet  long  between  abutments,  and  has  23 
openings  of  5  feet  each,  closed  by  cast-iron  gates  of  design  similar 
to  those  in  the  Truckee  Dam. 

The  foundation  rests  upon  round,  wooden  piling  spaced  in 
7-foot  centers  both  ways,  and  capped  with  a  grillage  of  12  X  12 
timber,  3  feet  high,  31  feet  wide,  and  240  feet  long.  The  piles 
were  driven  to  refusal,  usually  12  to  14  feet.  At  the  upper 
edge  of  this  grillage  a  row  of  Wakefield  sheet  piling  was  driven, 
and  a  similar  row  of  sheet  piling  was  driven  at  the  lower  edge. 

Two  canals  head  from  the  Carson  Diversion  Dam,  the  larger 
being  on  the  right  bank  and  having  a  capacity  of  1,800  second  feet. 
The  gates  to  this  canal  are  three,  and  each  has  a  span  of  17  feet 
and  a  height  of  5.  They  are  of  the  rising  weir  type,  being  low- 
ered to  admit  water  to  the  canal  and  raised  to  shut  it  out.  A 
fixed  concrete  weir  is  placed  across  the  canal  at  the  river's  edge, 
with  its  crest  3  to  4  feet  above  the  river-bed  and  slightly  above 
canal  grade,  and  the  gate  slides  up  and  down  behind  this,  serv- 
ing to  increase  the  height  of  weir  to  any  elevation  up  to  the  high- 
water  line.  The  purpose  of  using  this  type  of  head-gate  is  to 
skim  the  top  of  the  water  in  flood  and  thus  admit  the  minimum 
quantity  of  sediment  to  the  canal.  The  gates  are  built  up  of  steel 
I-beams  and  plates,  moving  on  roller-bearings  in  the  cast-iron 
guides  upon  the  piers.  One  similar  gate  is  used  by  the  smaller 
canal  on  the  north  side. 

About  5.8  miles  below  the  head-works  the  Carson  main  canal 
has  a  drop  of  26  feet  in  its  water  surface,  in  passing  from  the 
bench  to  bottom-lands.  The  excess  fall  is  concentrated  at  one 
point  so  that  it  may  in  future  be  used  for  power  purposes,  and 
the  structure  provided  was  designed  with  such  use  in  view. 

The  canal  is  here  enlarged  into  a  concrete-lined  forebay  on 
the  lower  side  of  which  a  semi-circular  weir  is  provided  over 
which  the  water  falls  to  a  water  cushion  below. 


224  TRUCKEE-CARSON   PROJECT 

CONSTRUCTION  COSTS  TRUCKEE-CARSON  PROJECT 

Headquarters  and  permanent  buildings $      28,792 

Main  canals,  Carson  Valley 448,626 

Lateral  and  Drainage  system 1,408,432 

Carson  River  Channel 131,821 

Lower  Carson  diversion  dam 91,725 

Power-house  drop 62,488 

Examination  general 123,733 

Experiment  Farm 7,008 

Lake  Tahoe  Reservoir 17,307 

Lahontan  Reservoir ,..-..  1,480,336 

Main  Truckee  Canal 1,582,716 

Truckee  concrete  chute 28,929 

Rights  of  way  and  land  purchases ,  . .  .  168,595 

Water  right  adjudication 17,078 

Land  surveys  and  maps 22,879 

Telephone  construction 42,210 

Lahontan  power  plant '    102,703 

Commercial  power  system 26,504 

Lahontan  bench  unit 19,557 


Total  construction  cost  to  January  1,  1915 $5,811,479 

The  Truckee  main  canal  and  the  diversion  dams  in  the 
Truckee  and  Carson  Rivers,  as  well  as  a  large  part  of  the  dis- 
tribution system,  were  built  by  L.  H.  Taylor,  with  J.  H.  Quinton 
as  Consulting  Engineer. 

The  Lahontan  Dam  and  the  Lake  Tahoe  regulating  works 
were  designed  and  built  under  direction  of  D.  W.  Cole. 


CHAPTER    XIII. 
CARLSBAD  PROJECT 

DESCRIPTION 

This  system  was  built  by  a  private  corporation  in  1891-3, 
and  consisted  of  two  reservoirs  c.alled  Lakes  Avalon  and  McMillan, 
both  on  Pecos  River,  and  a  system  of  canals  on  each  side  of 
the  river. 

Lake  Avalon  is  formed  by  a  combination  earth  and  rock- 
fill  dam  built  across  the  Pecos  River  in  1891,  48  feet  high  ami 
1,050  feet  in  length.  The  lower  portion  was  of  loose  rock  with 
down-stream  slope  of  ll/2  to  1,  and  the  water  slope  of  earth  on 
slope  of  3%  to  1,  covered  with  stone  riprap  2  feet  thick.  This 
dam  serves  primarily  as  a  diversion  dam,  but  has  a  storage  capa- 
city of  about  5,000  acre-feet  above  the  canal  outlet,  which  is 
excavated  in  rock  on  the  left  bank  of  the  river.  The  right  side 
of  the  canal  for  a  distance  of  200  feet  was  closed  by  wooden 
gates  to  be  opened  in  times  of  flood,  and  serve  as  a  spillway. 
Two  other  spillways  have  been  provided  on  the  right  or  west 
side  of  the  reservoir. 

Lake  McMillan  is  formed  by  a  combination  earth  and  rock- 
fill  dam  built  across  the  Pecos  River,  1,686  feet  long  and  52  feet 
high,  and  an  embankment  5,200  feet  long  and  19  feet  high,  to 
close  a  gap  in  the  hills  west  of  the  river.  The  section  of  the  dam 
is  similar  to  Avalon.  The  main  spillway  is  cut  through  rock 
about  one  mile  west  of  the  dam  and  discharges  into  a  ravine 
joining  the  river  2  miles  below.  In  addition  to  this,  a  cut  has 
been  made  in  the  hill  still  farther  west,  which  discharges  into 
the  same  drainage  line,  forming  a  secondary  spillway  which 
discharges  only  at  higher  stages  of  flood. 

The  canal  branches  3  miles  below  the  head-gates,  the  main 
canal  crossing  the  river  in  a  flume,  and  covering  the  main  tract 
west  of  the  river.  The  eastern  branch  continues  down  the  val- 
ley and  commands  about  2,000  acres  on  the  east  side  of  the  river. 

The   system   as   originally  built   is   said    to   have   cost   over 

$2,000,000. 

225 


226  CAKLSBAD    PROJECT 

The  Avalon  Dam  was  overtopped  by  a  flood  wave  in  1893, 
and  destroyed.  It  was,  however,  quickly  rebuilt  by  the  com- 
pany, and  the  second  spillway  on  the  west  side  was  constructed. 
The  system  was  placed  in  service  by  the  company  and  the  irri- 
gated area  gradually  extended  until  1904,  when  the  company 
claimed  to  be  furnishing  water  to  nearly  11,000  acres.  Serious 
defects  in  the  works  developed,  however,  making  it  impossible 
to  furnish  a  reliable  supply  to  this  acreage. 

The  McMillan  Reservoir  adjoins  on  the  east  a  bluff  of  gyp- 
sum, very  soft  and  full  of  seams,  and  is  partly  underlaid  by 
gypsum.  It  developed  serious  leaks,  which  gradually  increased 
in  magnitude  by  erosion  and  solution  until  caves  and  under- 
ground conduits  were  formed  of  such  magnitude  as  to  receive 
the  entire  flow  of  the  river  at  ordinary  stages.  The  capacity 
below  the  larger  leaks  was  small,  and  it  became  impossible  to 
fill  the  reservoir  except  in  great  floods,  and  the  stored  water 
was  soon  lost.  The  canal  was  also  largely  located  in  formations 
containing  gypsum  and  the  seepage  losses  were  very  serious  and 
caused  much  damage  to  lands  lying  below.  In  one  short  stretch 
called  "Gyp  Bend"  more  than  100  cubic  feet  of  water  per  sec- 
ond was  lost  in  the  gypsum  cavities.  In  addition  to  this,  the 
wooden  structures  soon  showed  the  effects  of  decay,  especially 
the  high  wooden  flume  across  the  river,  which  was  replaced  in 
1903  by  a  structure  of  concrete,  but  much  trouble  was  caused 
by  the  repeated  failure  of  its  approaches. 


DESTRUCTION   AND    PURCHASE 

In  October,  1904,  during  a  great  flood,  the  Avalon  Dam  was 
again  destroyed,  both  approaches  to  the  concrete  flume  were 
washed  out  and  one  of  its  piers  undermined;  the  dam  serving 
as  a  canal  crossing  for  Dark  Canyon  was  destroyed,  the  canal 
breached  in  numerous  places,  and  the  entire  system  put  out  of 
service.  Lake  McMillan  also  suffered  severely.  The  earth  dike 
which  had  been  provided  to  cut  off  the  most  serious  leaks  had 
been  washed  out,  as  had  also  the  dam  closing  the  gap  in  the 
hills  on  the  west.  The  western  spillway  had  so  seriously  eroded 
as  to  threaten  the  entire  reservoir,  and  it  was  later  permanently 
closed.  Scarcely  a  structure  or  a  mile  of  canal  on  the  entire 
system  was  left  in  usable  condition  after  the  flood. 


PURCHASE    AND    RECONSTRUCTION  227 

In  this  emergency  the  Secretary  of  the  Interior  was  petitioned 
to  purchase  this  collection  of  wrecks  and  undertake  their  recon- 
struction. Although  hampered  for  funds  on  account  of  the  large 
amount  of  work  in  hand,  the  Secretary  did  so  in  order  to  save 
from  destruction  an  entire  community. 

RECONSTRUCTION 

The  remains  of  the  canal  and  reservoir  system  were  purchased 
in  1906,  and  the  United  States  undertook  to  make  such  repairs 
and  new  construction  as  would  place  the  system  in  service,  leav- 
ing many  desirable  betterments  and  replacements  for  some  future 
time  when  funds  should  become  more  plentiful. 

Lake  Avalon  Dam  was  rebuilt  with  a  reinforced  concrete  core- 
wall  with  earth  embankment  on  the  water  side  and  rock-pitching 
on  the  down-stream  side.  Where  a  portion  of  the  original  earth 
bank  remained  adjacent  to  the  left  abutment,  steel  piling  was 
driven  instead  of  the  core-wall.  The  provision  of  a  core-wall  was 
an  innovation  upon  the  usual  Western  practice,  and  especially 
that  of  the  Reclamation  Service.  Its  necessity  arises  from  the 
presence  of  a  large  percentage  of  soluble  salts  in  the  earth  avail- 
able for  embankment.  In  use,  the  slow  percolation  of  water 
through  such  a  bank  gradually  leaches  out  the  soluble  matter, 
leaving  the  bank  more  and  more  porous,  and  it  soon  becomes 
unreliable  as  a  barrier  against  water.  The  core-wall  is  thus  made 
necessary,  and  also  serves  the  purpose  of  preventing  destruction 
through  the  ravages  of  burrowing  animals. 

The  large  concrete  flume,  which  carries  the  main  canal  across 
the  Pecos  River  5  miles  below  Avalon  Dam,  was  repaired  by 
carrying  the  foundations  of  its  piers  down  to  bed-rock,  repairing 
the  numerous  cracks  that  appeared  in  its  sides,  and  rebuilding 
the  wing  walls  and  approaches.  The  perfect  service  that  this 
flume  has  given  since  its  reconstruction,  contrasted  with  frequent 
failures  under  the  former  management,  testifies  to  the  efficiency 
of  the  work  upon  it. 

At  Dark  Canyon,  where  the  former  crossing  had  proved  waste- 
ful and  inefficient,  and  had  finally  failed  entirely,  a  substitute  was 
adopted  in  the  form  of  a  6-foot  reinforced  concrete  pressure  pipe, 
400  feet  long,  crossing  the  canyon  under  a  head  of  about  30  feet. 

Black  River  is  a  small  stream  that  flows  into  the  Pecos  from 


228  CARLSBAD    PROJECT 

the  West,  at  the  lower  end  of  the  project.  Its  waters  are  diverted 
by  a  canal  on  the  right  bank,  to  water  about  1,000  acres  of  land. 
At  times  the  waters  of  Black  River  are  insufficient  for  this,  and 
water  is  then  furnished  from  the  main  canal  of  the  project  "thro  ugh 
a  branch  reaching  Black  River  above  the  diversion  point.  The 
old  canal  from  Black  River  was  so  leaky  that  it  delivered  only 
a  small  percentage  of  the  water  turned  into  it.  The  new  canal 
is  lined  with  concrete,  and  is  practically  water-tight. 

The  main  canal  of  the  project,  as  received  by  the  Government, 
had  no  upper  banks,  and  its  water  surface  varied  from  50  to 
1,000  feet  in  width,  and  at  drainage  crossings  had  still  greater 
width.  So  much  porous  ground  surface  exposed  to  the  absorp- 
tion of  water  produced  enormous  losses  from  the  canal  which 
did  great  damage  where  the  water  appeared  on  lands  below. 
The  banks  of  the  canal  were  also  porous  in  many  places,  due 
to  the  solution  of  salts  by  percolating  water.  They  were  also 
badly  out  of  grade  so  that  the  water  stood  in  pools  or  rushed 
over  shoals. 

This  condition  required  the  reconstruction  of  most  of  the 
main  canal.  In  the  lower  course  of  the  canal  it  passed  through 
formations  of  gypsum  so  porous  that  it  was  necessary  in  places 
to  abandon  the  location  entirely,  and  build  a  new  canal  at  a 
lower  level. 

The  spillway  gates  in  the  side  of  the  canal,  just  below  the 
left  abutment  of  the  Avalon  Dam,  were  rotten  and  unserviceable. 
As  a  temporary  measure  the  Reclamation  Service  attempted  to 
use  this  spillway  with  certain  repairs,  but  it  was  found  to  be  inef- 
ficient, and  a  permanent  concrete  lip  was  built  in  its  place.  In 
addition,  two  vertical  wells  were  excavated  in  the  solid  limestone, 
joining  two  tunnels  discharging  into  the  river  below.  Each  of  these 
wells  is  protected  by  a  cylindrical  steel  gate  of  similar  design  to 
the  one  controlling  the  inlet  to  the  pressure  tunnel  on  the  Yuma 
Project.  These  gates  are  each  6^  feet  high  and  22  feet  in 
diameter.  Their  tops  are  nearly  level  with  the  fixed  spillway 
lip,  so  that  when  closed  they  act  as  automatic  spillways,  by 
allowing  the  water  to  flow  over  the  top  into  the  wells  and  out 
through  the  tunnel.  In  case  of  a  heavy  flood  the  gates  are 
raised  10  feet,  allowing  the  water  to  flow  under  them,  and 
thus  increasing  both  the  cross-section  and  the  discharge  head 
by  the  height  of  the  gates.  Each  gate  is  operated  by  a  train  of 


REPAIRS    TO    LAKE    MCMILLAN  229 

gearing  actuated  by  a  turbine  wheel.  The  capacity  of  spillway 
Xo.  1  is  about  14,000  cubic  feet  per  second. 

Spillway  No.  2  is  a  channel  excavated  through  the  natural 
rock,  which  is  a  fair  grade  of  limestone  on  top,  underlaid  by 
strata  of  inferior  hardness  and  much  broken.  Successions  of 
floods  have  gradually  eaten  back  into  the  channel,  until  it  be- 
came necessary  in  1912  to  build  a  concrete  lip  on  a  semicircular 
arch,  to  serve  as  a  spillway  lip,  and  to  protect  the  overfall  by 
means  of  a  heavy  blanket  of  concrete. 

This  spillway  has  a  rated  capacity  of  32,000  cubic  feet  per 
second. 

Spillway  Xo.  3,  still  further  west,  has  a  rated  capacity  of 
22,000  cubic  feet  per  second. 

The  repairs  required  by  Lake  McMillan,  the  main  reservoir, 
were  extensive  and  costly.  To  check  the  leakage  from  the  reser- 
voir, it  was  necessary  to  build  a  long  dike,  to  exclude  the  gypsum 
caves  along  the  eastern  margin.  The  scarcity  of  earth  near  at 
hand,  and  the  necessity  of  protecting  the  dike  from  wave  action, 
led  to  the  free  use  of  limestone,  which  is  convenient  and  abundant ; 
the  dike  is  4,000  feet  long  and  most  of  it  is  19  feet  high.  The 
water  slope  is  a  retaining  wall  of  hand-laid  rock  on  a  slope  of 
>2  to  1,  backed  with  earth.  The  outer  earth  slope  is  2  to  1,  and 
the  earth  toe  is  protected  with  rock  riprap. 

The  failure  of  Avalon  Dam  in  1904  has  never  been  satisfac- 
torily explained.  It  was  being  watched  at  the  time  on  account 
of  the  great  flood,  and  it  seems  to  be  certain  that  the  dam  was 
not  overtopped.  The  alternative  theory  that  it  was  pierced  by 
the  hole  of  some  burrowing  animal  seems  improbable,  in  view  of 
ihef  scrutiny  to  which  it  is  said  to  have  been  subjected  shortly 
before  failure.  It  is  possible  that  the  gradual  percolation  of 
water  through  the  earthen  bank  had  so  leached  out  the  soluble 
salts  as  to  render  it  more  and  more  porous  and  unsafe,  and  that 
the  abnormal  head  upon  the  porous  structure  caused  destructive 
velocities  through  its  body,  and  consequent  failure.  The  plausi- 
bility of  the  latter  theory  was  the  chief  reason  for  providing  the 
reconstructed  dam  with  an  impervious  core-wall. 

McMillan  Dam  was  built  on  similar  designs  and  with  mate- 
rial similar  to  that  used  in  the  original  Avalon  Dam.  It  was 
visited  by  a  great  flood  in  1914,  and  when  the  flood  level  was  at 
its  maximum  a  large  leak  was  discovered  by  the  patrol  near  the 


230  CARLSBAD    PROJECT 

west  end.  By  prompt  and  energetic  work  with  sacks  and  earth 
the  dam  was  saved,  and  afterward  thoroughly  repaired.  This 
occurrence  lends  further  probability  to  the  theory  advanced  to 
account  for  the  last  failure  of  Avalon.Dam,  in  1904,  as  the  close 
inspection  is  inconsistent  with  the  existence  of  holes  made  by 
burrowing  animals,  and  the  dam  was  certainly  not  overtopped. 

The  same  flood  in  1914  eroded  the  channel  leading  from  the 
spillway  west  of  the  dam,  and  necessitated  further  repairs  and 
protection  thereto. 

The  Pecos  River  above  Lake  McMillan  drains  an  area  of  22,000 
square  miles.  The  stream  is  nearly  dry  at  times,  and  is  subject  to 
violent  floods,  reaching  in  1915  a  volume  estimated  at  80,000 
cubic  feet  per  second.  These  floods  are  heavily  laden  with  sedi- 
ment, and  of  course  this  sediment  is  caught  and  largely  held  by 
the  reservoir. 

Careful  surveys  have  been  made  to  measure  the  amount  of 
sediment  thus  received  in  the  reservoir.  This  shows  an  average 
accumulation  of  about  4,000  acre-feet  of  sediment  per  annum. 
It  is  evident  that  in  time  other  storage  capacity  will  have  to 
be  provided. 

DRAINAGE 

The  character  of  the  soil  through  which  the  canals  of  the 
Carlsbad  Project  are  largely  built  makes  them  porous  in  many 
places,  as  already  explained.  The  soluble  constituent  is  mainly 
gypsum,  not  specially  harmful  to  the  fertility  of  the  soil,  and  in 
fact  a  certain  preventive  of  carbonate  of  soda,  which  is  the  most 
destructive  alkali  known.  The  gypsum,  however,  slowly  leaches 
out,  and  leaves  the  bottom  and  sides  of  the  canals  porous,  and 
of  course  this  causes  water  logging  to  the  soils  below.  This  and 
other  conditions  have  made  drainage  works  necessary.  As  a 
further  precaution  or  preventive,  the  most  porous  parts  of  the 
main  canal  were  lined  with  concrete  to  prevent  percolation. 
In  all,  the  Service  has  built  9  miles  of  open  drams,  and  4  miles 
of  covered  drains,  at  a  total  cost  of  $60,000.  Fourteen  miles 
of  the  Main  Canal  have  been  lined,  and  the  cost  of  this  work 
has  been  $75,000. 

The  reconstruction  of  the  Carlsbad  Project  was  planned  and 
carried  out  by  W.  M.  Reed,  under  the  general  direction  of 
B.  M.  Hall  as  Supervising  Engineer.  The  later  betterments  and 
the  drainage  were  provided  under  L.M.Foster  as  Project  Manager. 


CHAPTER  XIV 
HONDO  PROJECT 

The  expenditures  of  the  Reclamation  Service  to  June  30,  1916, 
were  about  $106,000,000,  of  which  $360,000,  or  one-third  of 
1  per  cent,  were  expended  upon  the  Hondo  Project  in  New  Mexico. 
This  project  has  been  widely  heralded  as  a  failure,  and  comes 
nearer  justifying  that  term  than  any  other  project  undertaken 
by  the  service. 

Its  small  size  might  justify  us  in  passing  it  over  as  of 
little  consequence,  especially  as  the  limited  scope  of  this  work 
requires  the  omission  of  several  of  the  minor  projects,  and  those 
in  the  early  stages  of  construction.  More  profit,  however,  can 
sometimes  be  gained  by  studying  the  details  of  failures  than  of 
successful  enterprises,  and  space  will  therefore  be  taken  to  describe 
the  conditions  from  which  lessons  may  be  drawn. 

DESCRIPTION 

The  Hondo  River,  so  called,  is  a  drainage  line  with  about  100 
square  miles  of  tributary  drainage  heading  in  the  Sierra  Blanca 
group  of  mountains,  containing  the  highest  peak  in  New  Mexico. 
The  major  portion  of  the  drainage  basin  has  the  character  of 
rolling  plains  upon  which  the  precipitation  is  usually  consider- 
ably less  than  20  inches  per  annum.  The  river  is  usually  dry 
or  nearly  so,  but  becomes  a  torrent  under  the  influence  of  occa- 
sional heavy  rains  which  occur  in  its  basin.  Only  a  small  amount 
of  irrigation  can  be  carried  on  from  the  stream  in  its  natural 
state,  and  any  considerable  increase  requires  the  storage  of  water, 
which  was  undertaken  by  the  Reclamation  Service  in  1904. 

The  storage  reservoir  is  a  natural  basin,  situated  at  some  dis- 
tance from  the  river.  The  unreliability  of  the  water  supply  made 
it  important  that  sufficient  amount  of  storage  capacity  be  pro- 
vided to  carry  the  project  over  two  or  three  dry  years  in  succes- 
sion, and  this  in  turn  rendered  important  the  probability  of  seri- 
ous seepage  from  the  reservoir.  These  facts,  together  with  the 

231 


232  HONDO    PROJECT 

occurrence  of  extensive  deposits  of  seamy  limestone  and  gypsum 
in  the  neighborhood,  indicated  the  importance  of  careful  examina- 
tion by  a  trained  geologist  regarding  the  probability  of  extensive 
leakage  from  the  basin.  Such  an  examination  was  made  by  a 
representative  of  the  Geological  Survey  upon  the  request  of  the 
Reclamation  Service,  and  as  a  result  of  this  examination  it  was 
decided  that  there  was  no  serious  danger  of  important  leakage 
from  the  basin,  and  construction  was  accordingly  authorized. 

By  building  between  the  surrounding  hills  earth  embank- 
ments, six  in  number,  of  a  height  varying  from  6.8  to  25.5  feet, 
and  with  a  total  length  of  16,504  feet,  the  storage  capacity  of  the 
reservoir  was  increased  about  fourfold,  to  the  present  capacity 
of  40,000  acre-feet.  The  flow  of  the  Hondo  is  diverted  by  an 
earth  dam  20  feet  high  and  100  feet  long,  and  is  led  to  the  reser- 
voir through  a  one-bank  canal  8,275  feet  in  length  and  70  feet 
in  width  at  grade.  This  canal  is  designed  to  serve  as  a  settling 
basin  for  the  silt  with  which  the  flood  waters  of  the  Hondo  are 
heavily  laden,  and  with  this  in  view  its  section  is  triangular,  the 
side  next  to  the  embankment  being  excavated  to  a  subgrade  4  feet 
below  grade. 

The  lower  bank  is  provided  with  two  spill-gates  and  five  sluice- 
gates, through  which  it  is  designed  to  scour  out  the  accumulated 
silt  as  need  requires,  the  silt-laden  waters  returning  to  the  Hondo. 
The  collection  of  silt  in  this  canal  is  encouraged  by  a  weir  at  its 
point  of  discharge  into  the  reservoir,  which  permits  only  the  upper 
third  of  the  depth  of  water  in  the  canal  to  enter  the  reservoir. 

From  the  center  of  the  reservoir  the  water  is  led  to  the  Hondo 
River  again,  through  a  canal  of  10  feet  bottom  width,  5,300  feet 
in  length.  The  canal  is  crossed  by  one  of,  the  embankments,  and 
the  water  is  led  under  through  two  lines  of  iron  pipe  3  feet  in 
diameter.  The  inlet  ends  of  these  pipes  are  in  a  reinforced  con- 
crete tower  reached  from  the  bank  by  a  steel  foot-bridge,  A 
platform  at  the  top.  of  this  tower  holds  the  ball-bearing  stands 
operating  the  outlet-gates.  After  being  returned  to  the  Hondo,- 
the  water  is  conveyed  down  the  river  channel,  a  distance  of  about 
a  mile,  to  the  edge  of  the  irrigated  district. 

The  Driver-banks  have  been -built  up  by  the  deposition  of  silt 
until  they  are  higher  than  the  surrounding,  country,  and  this 
permits  ditches  to  be  taken  out  almost  at  right  angles  to  the 
course  of  the  stream.  Three  low  concrete  diversion  dams,  each. 


CANAL   SYSTEM  23& 

containing  a  flash-board  frame  so  arranged  that  it  may  be  dropped 
to  leave  the  liver  channel  practically  unobstructed,  serve  to  throw 
the  water  into  the  four  lateral  canals.  The  slope  of  the  surface 
is  so  great  as  to  require  the  construction  of  frequent  drops  in 
these  ditches  to  hold  them  down  to  a  grade  low  enough  to  pre- 
vent a  cutting  velocity.  These  drops  and  .all  similar  structures, 
head-works  and  the  like,  are  of  concrete. 

When  the  reservoir  was  placed  in  commission  it  was  found 
that  considerable  leakage  occurred  and  the  quantity  of  this  rap- 
idly increased  by  the  enlargement  of  holes  in  the  bottom  of  the 
basin  which  evidently  connected  with  subterranean  caverns  of 
great  capacity  and  extent. 

Repeated  efforts  were  made  by  puddling  to  prevent  this  leak- 
age, and  these  were  kept  up  for  some  years  in  the  hope  that  the 
muddy  water  of  the  Hondo  and  the  work  of  puddling  would  im- 
prove conditions  and  permit  the  storage  of  water  in  the  basin, 
but  this  has  not  been  the  result.  On  the  contrary,  the  leakage 
appeared  gradually  to  increase  in  spite  of  all  efforts  until  it  reached 
a  maximum  of  about  200  cubic  feet  per  second,  and  efforts  at 
storage  were  consequently  abandoned.  The  canal  system  is  still 
in  use  for  irrigating  such  land  as  can  be  served  by  the  unregu- 
lated flow  of  the  creek,  but  this  is  so  meager  and  uncertain  that 
results  are  very  small. 

The  Pecos  Valley  and  vicinity  for  long  distances  above  and 
below  this  point  is  largely  of  gypsum  formation,  and  extensive 
leaks  have  developed  in  the  reservoir  built  near  Carlsbad  in 
gypsum  formation  by  the  Pecos  Irrigation  Company.  It  is  the 
author's  opinion,  not  as  a  geologist  but  as  an  engineer,  that  the 
depression  which  constitutes  the  reservoir  site  of  the  Hondo  pro- 
ject was  formed  by  the  percolation  of  underground  waters  through 
great  deposits  of  gypsum  and  the  gradual  solution  and  erosion 
of  those  deposits  until  extensive  caves  were  formed,  which  finally 
collapsed  under  the  weight  of  the  Overlying  earth  and  caused  a 
depression  or  dry  lake  which  formed  the  site  for  the  reservoir 
adopted.  The  lesson  is  that  natural  depressions,  situated  at  a 
distance  from  natural  drainage  lines,  should  be  regarded  with 
suspicion,  especially  when  occurring  in  rock  in  which  caverns 
may  be  expected  to  occur. 


CHAPTER  XV 
RIO  GRANDE  PROJECT 

DESCRIPTION 

The  Rio  Grande  del  Norte  rises  in  Colorado  and  flows  south- 
ward the  entire  length  of  New  Mexico.  For  a  distance  of  4  miles 
above  El  Paso  it  forms  the  boundary  between  Texas  and  New 
Mexico,  and  for  about  1,300  miles  to  the  Gulf  of  Mexico  it  forms 
the  boundary  between  Texas  and  Mexico. 

Above  El  Paso  it  has  a  length  of  about  900  miles,  and  a  drain- 
age area  of  38,000  square  miles.  The  basin  in  Colorado  and 
northern  New  Mexico  is  largely  mountainous,  and  the  water 
supply  being  mostly  from  melting  snow  has  the  characteristics 
of  such  a  supply,  the  high  water  season  being  in  spring  and  early 
summer  when  the  snows  are  melting,  and  the  lowest  stages  occur 
in  autumn  and  winter. 

The  major  portion  of  the  New  Mexico  drainage  area  is  arid 
and  desert  in  character  and  the  meager  precipitation  is  erratic  and 
often  torrential  in  occurrence. 

The  permanent  summer  flow  from  the  mountains  is  entirely 
appropriated  and  used  for  irrigation  in  Colorado  and  northern 
New  Mexico,  leaving  for  the  southern  portion  of  New  Mexico  little 
more  than  the  torrential  floods  occurring  at  irregular  intervals. 

This  was  not  always  the  condition,  however.  The  large  irri- 
gation systems  of  Colorado  are  of  recent  construction,  and  the 
area  they  irrigate  is  very  large.  The  El  Paso  Valley  was  irri- 
gated over  300  years  ago,  and  when  the  Spaniards  occupied  the 
valleys  of  Central  New  Mexico  in  the  sixteenth  century,  they 
found  them  irrigated  by  the  Pueblo  Indians  living  in  towns  and 
cultivating  the  land.  This  development  was  extended  by  the 
Spaniards  and  other  settlers  until  the  diversion  of  the  water 
supply  above  caused  a  reversion  to  desert  of  some  of  the  lands. 
As  a  result  of  this  condition  the  river  frequently  went  dry  at 
El  Paso,  and  at  times  remained  so  for  months.  The  irrigated 
lands  of  the  Rio  Grande  Valley  both  in  Mexico  and  Texas  re- 
234 


236  RIO    GRANDE    PROJECT 

verted  to  desert  for  the  most  part.  The  Mexican  lands  of  this 
class  were  estimated  at  from  20,000  to  25,000  acres,  and  on  their 
behalf,  the  Mexican  Government  filed  claims  against  the  United 
States  amounting  to  many  millions  of  dollars,  as  compensation 
for  damages  suffered  by  the  landowners  of  this  valley. 

For  many  years  past  the  irrigation  of  30,000  to  40,000  acres 
of  land  in  the  valley  of  the  Rio  Grande  in  southern  New  Mexico 
has  been  attempted,  but  the  water  supply  was  so  precarious  that 
crops  could  not  be  anticipated  with  any  certainty.  Often  the 
river  was  dry  for  months  at  a  time,  and  when  a  freshet  came, 
it  usually  washed  out  the  temporary  dams  of  rock  and  brush 
that  were  employed,  and  which  could  not  be  rebuilt  until  the 
flood  subsided.  After  its  reconstruction  at  great  labor,  the  river 
was  perhaps  dry  again,  or  nearly  so,  and  farming  was  often  a 
failure. 

Permanent  dams  were  required  at  the  head  of  each  of  the 
small  valleys,  and  in  1906,  a  contract  was  let  by  the  Reclama- 
tion Service  for  a  diversion  dam  at  Penasco  Rock,  above  the  old 
town  of  Leasburg. 

LEASBURG    DIVERSION   DAM 

The  Leasburg  Dam  is  a  concrete  overflow  weir  of  ogee  sec- 
tion, about  9  feet  high  and  600  feet  long  with  an  extension  of 
1,500  feet  at  the  west  end  in  the  form  of  an  earthen  dike.  The 
concrete  weir  is  founded  on  piling  driven  into  the  silt  of  the 
river-bed  to  a  depth  of  20  to  25  feet.  A  reinforced  concrete  apron, 
23  feet  wide  and  2  feet  thick,  receives  the  falling  water  as  it  flows 
over  the  weir  and  conducts  it  harmlessly  away  from  the.  dam. 
A  row  of  Wakefield  sheet  piling  under  the  heel  serves  to  prevent 
underflow.  A  similar  row  under  the  down-stream  edge  of  the 
apron  is  designed  to  prevent  backlash.  A  bed  of  sand  and  gravel 
just  above  the  toe  of  the  apron  serves  to  collect  drainage-  water, 
and  should  pressure  be  developed,  it  is  relieved  by  drain  pipes 
set  in  the  concrete  and  discharging  below.  The  lower  edge  of 
the  apron  is  further  protected  by  a  mass  of  loose  rock  extending 
5  feet  below  the  natural  river-bed,  and  3  or  4  feet  above  and 
reaching  down-stream  for  15  feet  or  more. 

The  west  abutment  of  the  dam  is  founded  on  piling  where 
it  joins  the  earthen  dike.  The  east  or  left  abutment  is  founded 
on  rock,  the  base  of  "Penasco  Rock,"  a  small  peninsula  of  rock 


ELEPHANT    BUTTE    RESERVOIR  237 

jutting  out  into  the  river  channel.  About  80  feet  inland  from  the 
end  of  the  dam  three  sluice-gates  are  placed,  each  8  feet  high  with  5 
feet  clear  opening.  Fifteen  feet  inland  from  these  gates  are  the 
gates  to  the  canal,  of  which  there  are  five,  each  7  feet  high  with 
5  feet  width  of  opening.  The  sluice-gate  sills  are  about  a  foot 
lower  than  those  of  the  canal  gates.  Owing  to  the  desirability 
of  building  the  canal  head-gate  structure  and  the  sluice-gate  struc- 
ture both  on  bed-rock,  it  was  not  possible  to  place  them  at  an 
angle  of  90  degrees,  which  is  the  angle  of  greatest  sluicing  efficiency. 
The  angle  between  the  axes  of  the  structures  is  about  150  degrees 
but,  nevertheless,  the  sluicing  results  have  been  fairly  satisfactory. 

ELEPHANT  BUTTE  RESERVOIR 

The  International  Boundary  Commission  worked  out  a  proj- 
ect designed  to  store  the  waters  of  the  Rio  Grande  by  building 
a  dam  just  above  the  city  of  El  Paso,  to  furnish  a  supply  of  stored 
water  to  the  lands  of  the  El  Paso  Valley  on  both  sides  of  the 
river,  amounting  to  about  50,000  acres,  of  which  more  than  half 
was  on  the  Mexican  side. 

This  project,  however,  did  not  utilize  the  entire  flow  of  the 
river,  lacking  both  storage  capacity  and  irrigable  land,  and  it 
furnished  no  water  for  irrigating  land  in  New  Mexico,  although 
the  reservoir  would  submerge  a  large  acreage  in  that  State.  In 
consequence  the  project  was  violently  opposed  by  the  people  of 
New  Mexico,  and  a  better  solution  of  the  problem  was  sought 
by  the  author. 

The  conditions  to  be  met  in  providing  storage  on  the  Rio 
Grande  are  extreme  and  are  mainly  as  follows:  While  the  floods 
on  the  river  are  enormous,  they  do  not  come  with  any  regularity, 
and  the  total  flow  in  some  years  is  less  than  one-twelfth  of  that 
in  other  years.  The  amount  of  silt  carried  by  the  river  is  very 
large,  especially  in  flood,  and  would  be  caught  and  held  by  any 
reservoir,  irrespective  of  its  size.  Hence  the  silt  problem  is  rela- 
tively far  more  acute  with  a  small  reservoir  than  with  a  large  one. 

For  these  reasons  it  is  imperative  that  the  reservoir  be  as 
large  and  deep  as  possible,  so  as  to  minimize  evaporation,  to 
have  ample  capacity  for  holding  the  waters  from  years  of  large 
supply  for  use  in  years  of  drouth,  and  a  surplus  capacity  for  silt 
accumulations,  so  that  the  sediment  will  not  materially  encroach 
upon  the  necessary  water-storage  capacity  for  many  years. 


238 


RIO   GRANDE   PROJECT 


A  reconnoissance  by  the  author  in  May,  1902,  indicated  the 
feasibility  of  building  a  high  dam  in  the  canyon  about  half  a 
mile  below  Elephant  Butte,  to  form  a  reservoir  about  40  miles 
long  with  a  capacity  of  over  2,000,000  acre-feet,  which  would 
cover  about  40,000  acres  and  would  not  submerge  any  railroad, 
nor  any  large  body  of  good  land. 


2*  Core  Hole, 
-   Grouted. 


FIG.  79.-Section  of  Elephant  Butte  Dam,  Rio  Grande,  N.  M. 


ELEPHANT  BUTTE  RESERVOIR 


239 


After  the  passage  of  the  Reclamation  Act,  surveys  were  made 
of  the  reservoir  site,  and  the  following  areas  and  capacities  were 
ascertained : 

AREA  AND  CAPACITY  OF  ELEPHANT  BUTTE  RESERVOIR 


Elevation  above 
Sea-Level, 
Feet 

Depth  of 
Water, 
Feet 

Surface  of 

Water, 
Acres 

Capacity, 
Acre- 
Feet 

4210 

o 

o 

o 

4  215 

5 

41.5 

110 

4^220  

10 

130  .  5 

415 

4,225  

15 

219.5 

1,290 

4  230 

20 

365 

2,610 

4,235  

25 

511 

4,825 

4,240  

30 

843 

7,720 

4,245  

35 

1,175 

12,765 

4,250  

40 

1,781 

19,470 

4,255  

45 

2,388 

29,860 

4,260  

50 

3,145 

43,350 

4,265  

55 

3,908 

58,470 

4  270                              

60 

4,664 

82,375 

4,275  

65 

5,426 

107,600 

4,280  

70 

6,175 

136,635 

4  285                                         

75 

6,924 

169,385 

4,290  

80 

7,630 

205,880 

4,295  

85 

8,335 

245,795 

4,300.  .  

90 

8,977 

289,235 

4,305  
4,310  

95 
100 

9,620 
10,550 

335,730 
385,435 

4,315  

105 

11,480 

440,510 

4,320  
4,325  
4,330  
4,335  
4,340  
4,345  

4  355                          

110 
115 
120 
125 
130 
135 
140 
145 

12,553 
13,626 
14,811 
15,996 
17,618 
19,241 
21,370 
23,499 

500,240 
565,685 
635,500 
713,515 
796,465 
888,615 
988,875 
1,101,045 

4  360 

150 

25,516 

1,223,065 

4,365  
4,370  
4,375  
4,380  
4,385  
4,390  
4,395  
4,400  
4,405  
4,407  
4,410  
4,414  

155 
160 
165 
170 
175 
180 
185 
190 
195 
197 
200 
204 

27,534 
29,553 
31,600 
33,800 
36,000 
38,200 
40,400 
42,600 
44,800 
45,680 
48,000 
49,760 

1,355,690 
1,500,000 
1,657,000 
1,828,000 
2,014,000 
2,216,000 
2,435,000 
2,672,000* 
2,928,000 
3,035,000f 
3,204,000 
3,400,000* 

*  Full  reservoir,  normal. 
t  Spillway  lip. 
J  Top  of  dam. 


240  RIO   GRANDE    PROJECT 

Diamond  drill  borings  were  made  on  several  alternative  lines 
in  the  river-bed  and  test  pits  were  opened  and  examined  on  the 
abutments. 

After  the  feasibility  of  this  project  had  been  demonstrated, 
an  arrangement  was  made  with  the  Republic  of  Mexico  whereby 
the  United  States  undertook  to  construct  a  large  reservoir  to 
store  the  Rio  Grande  waters,  and  to  deliver  to  Mexico  at  the 
Acequia  Madre,  the  Mexican  canal  at  the  head  of  El  Paso  Valley, 
60,000  acre-feet  of  water  annually,  and  Mexico  on  her  part  waived 
all  claims  to  indemnit3r  for  the  adverse  diversion  of  Rio  Grande 
waters.  A  subsequent  Act  of  Congress  extended  the  provisions 
of  the  Reclamation  Act  to  the  State  of  Texas  and,  later,  an  appro- 
priation of  SI, 000,000  was  made  to  cover  Mexico's  share  of  the 
Reservoir. 

It  is  estimated  that  an  abundant  supply  for  all  the  land  that 
can  be  reached  by  gravity  from  the  various  favorable  diversions 
in  the  valleys  below  Elephant  Butte,  which  is  about  155,000 
acres,  will  require  about  4  feet  in  depth  on  the  land,  or  620,000 
acre-feet  annually,  including  all  losses.  Treaty  obligations  re- 
quire the  delivery  of  60,000  acre-feet  annually  to  the  Republic 
of  Mexico  at  the  head  of  the  Acequia  Madre  in  El  Paso.  Allow- 
ing 20  per  cent  loss  on  all  water  turned  out  for  this  purpose,  it 
will  require  80,000  acre-feet,  or  a  total  draft  on  the  reservoir  of 
700,000  acre-feet,  per  annum. 

The  records  of  the  past  twenty  years  show  how  the  water 
supply  would  have  fluctuated  under  the  proposed  conditions  had 
they  been  in  operation  during  that  time. 

Elephant  Butte  Dam. — This  dam  is  a  straight  gravity  struc- 
ture built  of  cyclopean  concrete.  Its  length  is  about  1,200  feet, 
and  its  height  from  lowest  foundation  to  the  roadway  over  the 
top  is  about  300  feet,  over  90  feet  of  which  is  below  river-bed, 
and  the  top  width  is  20  feet.  The  up-stream  face  of  the  dam  has 
a  batter  of  1  to  16,  and  the  down-stream  face  has  a  batter  of 
2  to  3,  to  the  river-bed,  below  which  the  batter  is  1  to  1. 

A  spillway  lip  400  feet  long  is  provided  at  the  west  end,  at 
elevation  4,407,  or  7  feet  below  the  roadway.  In  addition  to 
this  lip  spillway,  a  movable  spillway  is  provided,  consisting  of 
four  large  wells,  10  feet  in  diameter  in  the  rock  bench  just  up- 
stream from  the  spillway  Up,  the  bench  being  at  elevation  4,396. 
Each  well  is  closed  by  a  steel  cylinder  gate  which  can  be  raised 


ELEPHANT  BUTTE  RESERVOIR 


241 


ELEPHANT  BUTTE  RESERVOIR — SHOWING  RESULTS  IF  IT  HAD  BEEN  OPERATED 

FOR  THE  PAST  TWENTY  YEARS  WITH  ANNUAL  DRAFT  OF  700,000 

ACRE-FEET,  BEGINNING  1896 


Year 

Inflow 

Accumu- 
lated 

sat 

Evapora- 
tion 

Waste 

Stored 
Water 

1895 

1,259,234 

22  666 

123  700 

o 

1  112  869 

1896  

554,855 

32,653 

161,213 

0 

'796J524 

1897 

2,215,953 

72,540 

209,677 

o 

2,062,913 

1898 

960,981 

89,838 

289,170 

o 

2'oi7J426 

1899 

239,434 

94,148 

247,212 

o 

1J305J338 

1900 

467  703 

102  567 

191,684 

o 

'872*938 

1901  

656,252 

114,380 

151,697 

0 

665^680 

1902  

200,729 

117,993 

103,445 

0 

59,351 

1903  

1,272,069 

140,890 

111,696 

0 

496,827 

1904  

709,796 

153,666 

94,838 

0 

399,009 

1905  

2,422,008 

197,262 

238,935 

0 

1,838,486 

1906  

1,563,917 

225,413 

286,062 

245,163 

2,143,077* 

1907  

2,157,529 

264,249 

296,011 

1,161,518 

2,104,241* 

190,3  

774,109 

278,183 

287,458 

55,800 

1,821,158 

1909  

1,279,934 

301,222 

286,595 

24,180 

2,067,268* 

1910  

852,692 

316,570 

281,685 

343,185 

1,579,742 

1911  

1,799,733 

348,965 

280,954 

346,591 

2,019,525* 

1912  

1,499,614 

375,958 

291,368 

717,530 

1,784,250 

1913  

525,443 

383,396 

264,104 

0 

1,338,151 

1914  

1,093,701 

402,083 

228,986 

0 

1,484,179 

*Full  reservoir. 

The  above  table  assumes  that  the  inflow  of  silt  is  1 . 8  per  cent  of  the  total 
inflow;  that  the  United  States  Project  of  155,000  acres  will  require  3  acre-feet 
per  annum  at  the  land  and  60,000  acre-feet  will  be  delivered  at  the  Mexican 
Dam  at  El  Paso  every  year  for  Mexican  use;  that  the  losses  in  river  and  canal 
will  be  25  per  cent  of  that  turned  out  of  the  reservoir  and  that  the  annual 
evaporation  minus  the  precipitation  is  6  feet  in  depth  per  annum  from  the 
reservoir.  Capacity  is  taken  as  3,000,000  acre-feet  of  which  330,000  is  re- 
served for  flood  control,  leaving  2,670,000  acre-feet  available  for  storage. 

and  lowered  at  will.  Each  well  merges  into  a  tunnel  which  passes 
under  the  spillway  lip  and  discharges  into  the  spillway  channel 
below.  The  purpose  of  the  movable  spillway  is  to  provide  a 
means  of  regulating  the  discharge  of  the  spillway  within  the 
volume  that  can  be  safely  carried  without  damage,  by  the  river 
channel  below.  When  the  reservoir  reaches  an  elevation  of  4,400, 
or  7  feet  below  the  lip  of  the  spillway,  the  gates  can  be  opened 
and  will  discharge  at  that  stage  about  4,000  cubic  feet  per  second, 
and  an  equal  amount  can  be  drawn  through  the  service  gates. 
If  the  river  is  discharging  more  than  this,  the  reservoir  will  con- 
tinue to  rise,  and  by  the  tune  it  reaches  the  spillway  lip,  the 


242 


RIO    GRANDE    PROJECT 


discharge  through  the  cylinder  gates  will  be  about  6,000  cubic 
feet  per  second,  and  through  the  service  gates  2,000  cubic  feet 
per  second.  As  it  continues  to  rise,  and  the  discharge  is  aug- 


FIG.  80. — Cut-off  Trench,  Heel  of  Elephant  Butte  Dam,  Rio  Grande  Project. 

mented  by  the  flow  over  the  lip,  the  gates  will  be  gradually  closed 
sufficiently  to  hold  the  discharge  to  about  8,000  cubic  feet  per 
second,  and  this  amount  will  not  be  much  exceeded  according 
to  records  now  available.  In  case  a  flood  occurs  in  the  tribu- 
taries below  the  dam  while  the  spillway  is  discharging,  it  can  be 
closed  until  that  flood  has  subsided,  and  thus  the  flow  in  the 
river  channel  confined  to  a  safe  quantity. 

For  drawing  water  from  the  reservoir,  twelve  outlets  have  been 
provided.     Those  nearest  the  left  bank  are  provided  primarily 


ELEPHANT   BUTTE    DAM  243 

for  use  in  connection  with  penstocks  for  the  development  of  power 
at  some  future  time,  by  means  of  the  water  drawn  from  the  reser- 
voir. Of  these  there  are  two  sets  of  three  gates  each,  the  lower 
set  at  elevation  4,234  and  the  upper  set  at  4,264.7.  The  gate 
openings  are  4'  X  5'  connected  by  transition  castings  to  5-foot 
diameter  cast-iron  pipe.  West  of  these,  at  elevation  4,234,  are 
two  rectangular  conduits  of  rich  concrete,  each  controlled  by 
two  slide-gates,  one  for  regular  use  and  the  other  for  emergen- 
cies, in  case  of  accident.  These  openings  are  called  the  sluicing 
tunnels.  West  of  these,  in  a  buttress  or  projection  built  up- 
stream from  the  face  of  the  dam,  are  the  four  main  service  gates. 
These  are  of  the  sliding  type  with  clear  openings  of  4  feet  by 
ll/2  feet,  two  being  at  elevation  4,221  and  two  at  4,259.7.  The 
water  passing  through  these  gates  is  discharged  into  internal 
wells  or  chambers,  from  which  it  is  drawn  by  balanced  valves,  of 
which  there  are  four,  two  at  elevation  4,234  and  two  at  elevation 
4,290.  They  regulate  the  flow  through  circular  concrete  con- 
duits 5  feet  in  diameter,  discharging  under  water  at  elevation  4,212. 

All  gate  entrances  are  provided  with  grooves  extending  to 
the  top  of  the  dam,  in  which  a  heavy  steel  shutter  can  be  placed 
to  close  the  opening  and  permit  access  to  the  up-stream  gates 
When  necessary  for  inspection  or  repairs.  Internal  operating 
chambers  are  provided  and  all  operating  mechanism  is  well  lighted 
and  easily  accessible  under  all  conditions.  The  sliding  gates  are 
operated  by  hydraulic  power,  water  being  furnished  from  the 
large  supply  tank  on  the  hill  which  was  used  during  construction. 

The  balanced  valves  are  similar  in  design  and  operation  to 
those  used  in  the  Arrowrock  Dam,  described  on  page  119. 

The  total  weight  of  the  controlling  mechanism  was  over 
1,000  tons,  the  heaviest  single  pieces  being  portions  of  the  bal- 
anced valves,  which  weighed  23  tons  each. 

The  buttress  or  tower  which  carries  the  service  gates  and 
balanced  valves  is  flanked  by  a  screening  tower  of  reinforced 
concrete  with  openings  designed  to  admit  water  and  exclude 
drift.  That  portion  of  the  screening  tower  protecting  the  pen- 
stock and  sluice-gates  extends  to  elevation  4,272,  and  that  in 
front  of  the  service  gates  is  carried  up  to  4,370. 

A  variety  of  precautions  was  adopted  to  prevent  percola- 
tion into  and  under  the  dam,  and  to  relieve  any  upward  pressure 
that  might  develop  there. 


GROUTING    AND    DRAINAGE  245 

A  cut-off  trench  was  provided  at  the  heel  of  the  dam,  aver- 
aging about  10  feet  wide  in  the  bottom  and  15  feet  deep  below 
the  balance  of  the  foundation,  and  filled  with  rich  concrete. 
The  bottom  of  the  trench  was  left  always  in  excellent  sandstone. 
A  row  of  holes  was  provided  in  the  center  of  the  cut-off  trench 
at  10-foot  intervals,  extending  50  feet  below  the  bottom  of  the 
trench,  into  which  cement  grout  was  forced  under  high  pressure 
to  seal  all  accessible  seams  and  prevent  percolation  under  the 
dam.  In  all,  147  holes  were  grouted,  requiring  254  barrels  of 
Portland  cement  and  640  barrels  of  sand-cement.  One  hole  took 
56  barrels. 

About  10  feet  down-stream  from  these  grouting  holes,  another 
row  of  holes,  or  drainage  wells,  6  inches  in  diameter  and  8  feet 
apart,  was  provided  the  entire  length  of  the  dam  and  continued 
upward  to  the  drainage  tunnel,  or  gallery,  located  a  little  above 
the  river-bed,  which  will  discharge  any  water  received  into  a 
cross  conduit  leading  to  the  down-stream  face  of  the  dam.  These 
drainage  wells  were  drilled  to  a  depth  of  45  feet  below  the  base 
of  the  dam.  Their  purpose  is  to  intercept  any  percolation  be- 
neath the  dam  not  cut  off  by  the  grouting  and  to  relieve  any 
pressure  that  might  otherwise  occur.  They  can,  of  course,  be 
grouted  later  if  this  be  deemed  best.  Five  feet  down-stream 
from  the  first  line  of  drainage  wells,  a  similar  line  of  wells  was 
provided,  alternating  with  the  first  line,  not  extending  into  the 
natural  rock  but  leading  up  into  the  drainage  gallery.  All  the 
drainage  wells  were  continued  upward  from  the  drainage  tunnel 
to  near  the  top  of  the  dam,  with  diameters  of  12  inches. 

In  order  to  reduce  percolation  from  the  reservoir  into  the 
body  of  the  dam,  the  portion  of  the  up-stream  face,  about  5  feet 
in  thickness,  is  made  of  a  richer  mix  than  the  balance  of  the  dam, 
and  the  entire  water  face  of  the  dam  was  coated  with  cement 
mortar  applied  with  a  cement  gun.  The  mortar  was  composed 
of  one  part  Portland  cement  and  two  parts  sand,  and  applied 
in  four  layers,  each  about  J^-inch  in  thickness.  The  wall  was 
first  cleaned  with  wire  brooms  and  then  roughened  with  a  sand- 
blast to  secure  proper  adherence  of  the  mortar. 

The  stone  for  the  masonry  of  the  dam  was  obtained  from 
three  sandstone  quarries  located  along  the  railroad  track  from 
2,000  to  6,000  feet  from  the  dam.  Five  quarries  in  all  were 
opened,  but  only  two  gave  results  at  all  satisfactory,  and  even 


246  RIO    GRANDE    PROJECT 

these  have  considerable  waste  in  the  form  of  shale  and  other 
unsuitable  material.  Ten  guy  derricks  were  used  in  the  quarries. 

Construction  of  Elephant  Butte  Dam.— This  structure  is  built 
of  concrete,  with  large  stones  imbedded  therein  to  the  extent  of 
from  20  to  25  per  cent.  Its  solid  contents  are  in  excess  of  600,000 
cubic  yards.  It  is  founded  on  rock  in  place,  which  is  about  100 
feet  below  the  river-bed  in  places.  It  consists  of  alternate  strata 
of  shale  and  sandstone,  neither  of  which  is  very  hard,  and  which 
are  much  folded  and  broken.  The  shale  disintegrates  rapidly 
on  exposure  to  air,  and  it  was  necessary  to  clean  off  all  surfaces 
of  that  material  just  before  depositing  concrete. 

Three  cableways  were  installed  for  excavation  and  construc- 
tion purposes,  each  with  a  clear  span  between  towers  of  about 
1,400  feet.  The  cables  were  2^  inches  in  diameter  and  had  a 
normal  capacity  of  about  8  tons;  each  was  operated  by  a  300- 
horse-power  electric  motor. 

The  necessary  power  for  the  operations  was  provided  by  a 
plant  of  three  steam  turbines  directly  connected  to  alternating 
current  generators  of  625  kilowatts  capacity  each,  furnishing 
current  at  2,200  volts,  at  which  tension  it  is  transmitted  about 
the  work  and  used  by  the  cableways  and  the  larger  motors,  but 
it  is  stepped  down  for  the  smaller  motors.  The  coal  used  in  this 
plant  was  passed  through  a  coal  breaker  and  fed  by  automatic 
stokers  to  furnaces  under  vertical  boilers.  An  air  compressor 
furnished  air  for  drilling  purposes  in  the  quarry. 

For  the  transportation  of  men  and  materials  of  construction, 
a  standard-gage  railway  was  constructed,  connecting  the  Santa  Fe 
route  with  the  dam  site.  The  road  is  11  miles  in  length  and 
has  a  maximum  grade  of  nearly  4  per  cent. 

The  water  supply  for  the  camps  and  for  boilers  and  construc- 
tion purposes  was  obtained  from  wells  sunk  in  the  sands  of  the 
river-bottom.  It  was  pumped  by  electrically  driven  triplex  pumps 
to  a  300,000-gallon  concrete  tank  about  400  feet  above  the  river. 
The  water  was  piped  from  this  tank  to  the  power-plant  and  the 
concrete  mixers  and  also  to  the  upper  camp.  It  also  furnishes 
the  hydraulic  power  for  operating  the  slide-gates  in  the  dam. 

The  river  was  diverted  during  construction  through  a  flume 
built  on  a  bench  excavated  on  the  right  bank.  Where  the  flume 
crossed  the  dam  site  it  was  built  of  concrete,  and  finally  incor- 
porated with  the  dam.  The  rest  of  the  flume  was  of  lumber; 


248  RIO    GRANDE   PROJECT 

it  had  a  bell-shaped  mouth,  and  the  estimated  capacity  was 
16,000  cubic  feet  per  second.  The  inner  slope  of  the  concrete 
flume  was  provided  with  several  heavy  grooves  or  corrugations 
which  were  later  filled  with  lean  concrete,  producing  a  smooth 
surface  but  easily  removable  to  restore  the  grooves  to  improve 
the  bond  with  the  mass  concrete  of  the  dam  when  the  flume 
was  incorporated  with  it.  Into  this  flume  the  river  was  diverted 
by  an  earthen  cofferdam. 

The  excavation  of  sand  and  gravel  from  the  river-bed  was 
made  with  large  grab  buckets  and  the  material  deposited  in  dump 
cars  and  hauled  to  a  storage  pile  for  use  later  in  mixing  concrete. 
A  pit  much  wider  than  required  for  the  dam  was  excavated  for 
the  purpose  of  using  the  sand  and  gravel  therefrom  in  mixing 
concrete  for  the  dam,  there  being  no  sand  available,  except  in 
the  river-bed.  In  widening  the  pit  for  this  purpose  drag  scrapers 
were  used  to  pull  the  sand  down  to  where  the  cables  could  pick 
it  up.  These  scrapers  were  drawn  back  and  forth  on  endless  cables 
operated  by  electric  drum  hoists. 

Experiments  extending  over  several  years  were  made  to  deter- 
mine the  safety  and  feasibility  of  manufacturing  sand-cement 
at  Elephant  Butte  for  use  in  the  dam,  and  it  was  demonstrated 
that  this  would  effect  a  saving  of  over  $200,000  in  the  cost  of 
the  dam  without  sacrificing  anything  in  quality  or  durability. 
The  plant  for  manufacturing  this  sand-cement  consisted  of  a 
gyratory  crusher,  a  rotary  dryer,  a  ball  mill,  an  automatic  mix- 
ing machine,  and  four  tube  mills,  besides  the  necessary  elevating 
and  conveying  machinery.  The  automatic  mixing  machine 
mixed  the  product  of  the  ball  mill  with  an  equal  quantity  of  Port- 
land cement,  which  mixture  was  then  ground  in  the  tube  mills 
to  a  fineness  of  90  to  93  per  cent,  passing  a  No.  200  sieve.  The 
finished  product  was  carried  by  a  belt  conveyor  to  a  large  bin 
above  the  concrete  mixing  plant.  The  cost  of  the  sand-cement 
plant  was  $56,000  and  its  capacity  about  70  barrels  per  hour. 

The  concrete  mixing  plant  was  carefully  planned  to  secure 
large  capacity  with  the  minimum  amount  of  human  labor.  Two 
^°-  IVt  gyratory  crushers  were  installed  on  the  side  hill  about 
20  feet  lower  than  the  railroad  track  on  which  the  rock  was 
hauled,  and  an  entire  train-load  of  rock  could  be  dumped  into 
the  hoppers  at  one  time.  The  crushed  rock  was  elevated  to  the 
top  of  the  tower  containing  the  concrete  mixing  plant.  There 


SAND-CEMENT 


249 


the  product  of  the  crushers  was  passed  through  a  drum  screen, 
the  fine  material  passing  into  the  sand  bin  and  the  coarse  into 
the  rock  bin.  The  sand  and  gravel  from  the  river-bed  was  like- 
wise screened  and  passed  to  the  proper  bins.  Another  bin  along- 
side these  two  received  the  cement  from  the  sand-cement  mill. 

Under  these  three  bins  were  installed  three  concrete  mixers, 
each  with  a  capacity  of  80  cubic  feet.  Above  each  mixer  was 
located  three  measuring  hoppers  holding  enough  cement,  sand, 
and  stone  for  one  batch  of  concrete.  The  contents  of  the  mixers 
were  dumped  into  hoppers  capable  of  holding  three  batches  each, 
so  that  the  mixing  could  proceed  regularly  regardless  of  irregu- 
larity of  delivery.  From  the  hoppers  the  concrete  was  drawrn 
into  skips  borne  upon  cars  which  ran  on  tracks  leading  under 
all  the  cable  ways  so  that  any  skip  could  be  delivered  to  any 
cableway,  which  carried  the  concrete  to  place  on  the  dam.  Eight 
stiff -leg  derricks  of  8-ton  capacity  each  were  used  on  the  dam 
to  place  the  concrete  and  the  rock.  The  total  cost  of  the  mixing 
plant,  including  storage  bins,  elevators,  and  haulage  system,  but 
excluding  the  rock  crushers,  was  $57,800. 

During  the  year  ending  February  28,  1915,  380,200  cubic 
yards  of  masonry  was  placed  in  the  dam.  The  best  day's  run 
was  2,651  yards,  on  January  25,  1915,  in  16  hours. 

COST  OF  MANUFACTURING  SAND-CEMENT,  ELEPHANT  BUTTE  DAM 


Item 

Total  to 
January  1,  1916 

Unit 
Cost 

Supervision  

$      5,950.12 

$0.009 

Laboratory  expense  .  .  . 

9,078.87 

.015 

Portland  cement  

629,650.66 

1.027 

Sand  or  crushed  rock  .  . 

..|        67,440.62 

.110 

Drying  
Pulverizing  and  grinding 
Sacking  and  handling  .  . 

5- 

2,613.45 
31,365.55 
1,354.19 

.004 
.051 
.002 

Power,  fuel  and  water  . 

124,083.59 

.202 

Maintenance  and  repairs. 

25,271  .  12 

.041 

Plant,   arbitrary 

69,358.80 

.113 

Project,  general  expense  .  .  . 

769.10 

.001 

Credit  (by  distribution)  $966,936  .  07 

$1.575 

The  maximum  output  for  any  month  was  40,205  barrels  of 
sand-cement  at  a  unit  cost  of  $1.494  per  barrel,  in  March,  1915. 
The  minimum  cost,  however,  was  attained  in  the  previous  year, 


250 


RIO    GRANDE    PROJECT 


with  an  output  of  19,764  barrels,  in  February,  at  $1.425  per 
barrel.  This  figure  was  closely  approximated  in  March,  1914, 
and  January,  1915.  The  minimum  output  for  any  month  was 
1,433  barrels  in  December,  1913,  at  a  cost  of  $2.672  per  barrel. 

The  sand-cement  plant  discontinued  operations  on  January  22, 
1916,  having  manufactured  a  total  of  622,551  barrels.  Work  of 
dismantling  was  started  immediately. 


COST  OF  ELEPHANT  BUTTE  DAM 
Surveys,  borings,  etc  .  . 

$399,626 
699,248 
384 
3,237,411 

Excavation  
Preparing  abutments  
Concrete,  605,200  yds.  @  5.35  .  . 
Cement  
Sand  

..518,236yds 
..518,236    " 
.  .518,236    " 
..518,236    " 
..518,236    " 
.  86,964    " 
.605,200    " 

.  @  2.122, 
"     .147, 
"  1.407, 
"     .173, 
"     .409, 
"  2.763, 
"     .297, 

$1,099,514 
76,039 
729,337 
89,494 
212,006 
240,183 
179,626 
11,018 
19,981 
7,187 
28,869 
92,132 
347,773 
104,252 

Stone  
Mixing.  .  .  . 

Placing  
Large  stone  in  place  
Forms  (wood) 

Reinforcement  in  place  .... 
Pumping  and  drainage  
Sprinkling. 

Field  engineering  
Maintenance  of  equipment  . 
Plant  arbitrary  
General  expense  

Grouting,  cement  gun,  and  bed-rock. 

Controlling  machinery 

Drainage  wells 

Embankment 

Spillway .'.'.'.'.'.'.'.'. 

Excavation 

Concrete 

Grouting 

Machinery 

General  expense 

Transmission  lines 

Roads  and  bridges 

Admin.  General  Expense. 


$54,962 

60,942 

1,351 

5,358 

1,845 


30,883 
205,997 

14,845 
129,946 
124,458 


1,267 
26,656 
61,143 


Total. 


$4,931,864 


CANAL    SYSTEMS  251 

MESILLA   DIVERSION   DAM 

A  low  diversion  weir,  303  feet  between  abutments,  with  mov- 
able crest,  has  been  constructed  on  the  Rio  Grande  southwest 
of  Las  Cruces.  It  is  of  concrete  with  an  ogee  crest  standing  2 
feet  above  a  reinforced  concrete  apron  which  covers  the  river-bed 
for  a  distance  of  18}/£  feet  up-stream  from  the  weir.  This  apron 
is  9  inches  thick  where  it  joins  the  weir,  and  6  inches  thick  at 
the  upper  edge,  with  a  curtain  2  feet  deep.  The  mass  of  concrete 
under  the  weir  extends  to  a  depth  below  the  lip  of  the  weir  of 

11  feet  and  10  inches,  narrowing  to  a  thickness  of  18  inches  at 
the  bottom.     A  concrete  apron  is  provided  below  the  weir  to 
receive  the  falling  water,  extending  to  a  line  24  feet  down-stream 
from  the  weir-crest,  and  diminishing  in  thickness  from  4  feet  to 
18  inches.     A  curtain  wall  extends  5  feet  below  the  floor  of  the 
apron,  and  is  provided  with  weep-holes  to  prevent  the  accumula- 
tion of  pressure.     This  curtain  wall  is  18  inches  thick  at  top  and 

12  inches  at  bottom. 

A  movable  crest,  4^  feet  high,  surmounts  the  weir,  in  the 
form  of  a  series  of  nine  radial  or  "Tainter"  gates,  to  be  raised 
in  time  of  flood  to  prevent  inundation  of  adjacent  lands.  These 
gates  have  radial  arms  of  19  feet  4^  inches. 

A  steel  bridge  surmounts  the  entire  structure  and  from  this 
the  radial  gates  are  operated  by  means  of  wire  ropes  upon  drums 
operated  by  hand  or  by  power  furnished  by  an  eight  horse-power 
gasoline  engine,  carried  from  one  gate  to  another  on  a  car. 

A  canal  heads  on  each  side  of  the  river  at  this  dam,  that  on 
the  right  bank  having  a  capacity  of  430  cubic  feet  per  second, 
and  its  entrance  is  controlled  by  eight  cast-iron  gates  of  4'4" 
clear  opening  and  3'9"  high.  The  canal  on  the  left  bank  has 
a  capacity  of  300  cubic  feet  per  second  and  six  head-gates  of  the 
same  dimensions  as  those  opposite. 

The  canal  gates  are  at  right  angles  to  the  dam. 

A  sluiceway  45  feet  wide,  to  clear  the  gate  entrances  of 
mud,  is  provided  at  each  end  of  the  dam,  each  controlled  by 
two  "Tainter"  gates  5H  feet  high,  with  sills  1  foot  below  the 
crest  of  the  main  weir. 

FRANKLIN    CANAL 

A  diversion  dam  of  masonry  was  built  many  years  ago  across 
the  Rio  Grande  at  the  upper  edge  of  the  city  of  El  Paso,  one  end 


252  RIO    GRANDE    PROJECT 

of  the  dam  being  within  the  city  limits  and  the  other  end  011 
Mexican  soil.  This  dam  has  been  repaired  by  the  Reclamation 
Service  and  the  canal  heading  at  this  point  has  been  enlarged  and 
new  head-works  provided.  This  is  called  the  Franklin  Canal 


FIG.  83. — Cylinder  Drop  on  Franklin  Canal. 

and  covers  the  major  portion  of  the  lands  to  be  irrigated  in  the 
El  Paso  Valley  of  Texas. 

It  follows  about  two  miles  through  the  city  limits  of  El  Paso, 
and  in  this  distance  has  a  deep,  narrow  section  lined  with  concrete, 
with  concrete  structures,  and  has  a  capacity  of  450  cubic  feet  per 
second.  The  upper  1,000  feet  has  a  wider  and  deeper  section, 
giving  a  capacity  of  about  1,000  cubic  feet  per  second,  and  is  lined 
with  concrete,  to  be  used  for  sluicing  purposes.  The  larger 
section  insures  a  low  velocity  through  this  reach,  and  the  heavier 
materials  taken  in  by  the  river  are  deposited  here.  By  opening 
a  gate  at  the  lower  end  of  the  sluicing  section  and  spilling  the 
water  back  into  the  river,  a  high  velocity  is  obtained,  which  scours 
out  the  deposited  materials. 

The  canal  following  parallel  to  the  river  has  a  heavier  grade 


CYLINDER    DROP  253 

than  necessary,  which  is  absorbed  in  occasional  drops  as  required. 
A  novel  design  has  been  adopted  for  these  drops,  consisting  of 
controlling  balanced  cylinder  gates  which  can  be  adjusted  to  such 
discharge  as  will  produce  the  proper  velocity  to  prevent  scour  and 
deposit  at  all  stages. 

The  Elephant  Butte  Dam  was  designed  under  the  direction 
of  Louis  C.  Hill.  The  dam  and  most  of  the  canal  system  was 
built  under  the  direction  of  E.  H.  Baldwin,  although  various 
portions  were  built  under  W.  M.  Reed,  and  later  L.  M.  Lawson. 
The  author  is  more  directly  responsible  for  the  conception  and 
general  plan  of  this  than  any  other  project. 


CHAPTER 
UMATILLA  PROJECT 

DESCRIPTION 

The  Umatilla  River  is  a  tributary  of  the  Columbia  and  drains 
an  area  of  about  2,000  square  miles.  It  has  a  mean  annual  run- 
off of  over  500,000  acre-feet,  a  large  part  of  which  is  diverted  by 
numerous  canals  and  ditches  and  used  for  irrigation  by  private 
enterprise.  The  habits  of  flow  of  the  stream,  however,  provide 
the  major  portion  of  the  run-off  in  the  winter  and  spring,  and  very 
little  in  the  latter  part  of  the  growing  season.  No  attempt  had 
been  made  to  store  water  prior  to  the  irrigation  operations  of 
the  Government  in  this  basin  and,  in  consequence,  most  of  the 
canals  of  the  valley  were  short  of  water  in  the  summer  and 
autumn. 

This  basin  was  first  examined  by  the  Reclamation  Service  in 
1903,  but  no  feasible  storage  site  was  found  on  the  main  stream 
or  its  tributaries.  A  basin  in  the  sand  hills  west  of  the  river, 
called  the  Juniper  Reservoir  site,  was  examined  with  a  view 
to  its  being  filled  by  a  feed  canal  from  the  river,  but  the  examina- 
tions developed  such  an  extensive  and  porous  substratum  of 
coarse  sand  and  gravel  under  the  reservoir  and  feed  canal  as  to 
make  its  probable  losses  fatal  to  the  success  of  this  project. 

Further  explorations  and  surveys  developed  a  more  promising 
site  at  Cold  Springs,  in  a  dry  ravine  east  of  the  Umatilla,  which 
could  be  filled  by  a  feed  canal  from  that  river. 

This  project  was  recommended  for  construction  in  1905,  and 
construction  began  in  1906.  The  plan  of  reclamation  involved 
the  construction  of  a  diversion  dam  on  the  Umatilla  River, 
a  feed  canal  to  conduct  water  from  the  diversion  dam  to  Cold 
Springs  Reservoir  formed  by  a  dam  in  Cold  Springs  Canyon  to 
store  the  flood  waters  of  the  Umatilla  River,  and  a  distribu- 
tion system  for  conducting  water  from  the  reservoir  to  the  irri- 
gable land.  For  purposes  of  description,  the  work  naturally 
254 


FEED    CANAL 


255 


divides  into  three  main  features,  the  feed  canal,  Cold  Springs 
Dam,  and  distribution. 


STORAGE    FEED    CANAL 


The  feed  canal  has  a  maximum  rated  capacity  of  300  second- 
feet.      It  heads  on  the  Umatilla  River,  two  miles  above  Echo, 


FIG.  84.— Lined  Portion  of  Feed  Canal,  Umatilla,  Project. 

Oregon,  where  a  diversion  dam  and  head-works  have  been  con- 
structed. The  diversion  dam  is  provided  with  a  concrete  over- 
flow weir  400  feet  long  and  4  feet  high,  founded  on  a  timber 
crib  3  feet  deep  and  23  feet  wide,  filled  with  rock,  forming  an 
apron  upon  which  the  overflow  falls.  Sheet  piling  is  driven  at 
the  upper  and  lower  edges  of  the  crib.  The  foundations  are  all 
on  loose  gravel.  The  top  of  east  abutment  and  head-gate  struc- 
ture are  7  feet  above  the  crest  of  the  weir.  The  west,  or  left 
abutment,  stands  8  feet  above  the  crest  of  the  weir  and  joins 
an  earth  and  gravel  dike  that  extends  about  2,000  feet  to  high 
ground,  and  is  riprapped  on  the  upper  side.  There  are  eight 


256  UMATILLA    PROJECT 

cast-iron  head-gates,  each  21"  X  6'3",  with  sills  two  feet  below 
%  crest  of  the  weir.  They  are  separated  by  reinforced  concrete 
piers,  and  these  piers  are  connected  by  curtain  walls  above  the 
gates,  so  that  no  water  can  flow  over  the  gates. 

One  thousand  three  hundred  feet  below  the  head-gates  a 
structure  is  provided  with  gates  across  the  canal  similar  to  the 
head-gates  and  sluice-gates  in  the  side  of  the  canal,  by  open- 
ing which,  and  closing  the  check-gates,  the  water  can  be 
turned  into  the  river  at  a  high  velocity  and  the  gravel  sluiced 
out  of  the  head  of  the  canal.  Here  the  amount  of  water  to  be 
carried  down  the  canal  is  regulated. 

A  considerable  portion  of  the  feed  canal  is  lined  with  concrete 
for  safety  and  for  economy  of  excavation  and  of  water.  Most 
of  this  lining  is  4  inches  thick,  but  a  part  is  2  inches. 

About  half  a  mile  before  the  feed  canal  reaches  the  reservoir, 
a  by-pass  chute  is  provided,  by  which  water  can  be  dropped  down 
the  hill  into  the  distribution  canal  system  about  17  feet  lower. 
This  is  a  concrete  chute  of  trapezoidal  section  with  a  stilling 
basin  at  the  bottom. 

At  the  discharge  of  the  canal  into  the  reservoir  a  large  con- 
crete drop  is  built  to  prevent  back-cutting  along  the  canal.  A 
short  distance  above  its  outlet,  the  canal  is  provided  with  a  set 
of  gates  in  the  form  of  flap  valves  which  remain  open  as  long  as 
the  water  is  flowing  toward  the  reservoir,  but  close  when  a  cur- 
rent starts  in  the  opposite  direction.  This  prevents  back-flow 
when  the  reservoir  is  full  and  the  feed  canal  supply  is  stopped. 


COLD    SPRINGS   DAM 

This  dam  is  built  of  earth,  sand,  and  gravel.  It  has  a  height 
of  100  feet,  a  top  width  of  20  feet,  and  slopes  of  3  to  1  on  the 
water  slope,  and  2  to  1  on  the  down-stream  slope.  It  forms  a 
reservoir  in  Cold  Springs  Canyon  of  about  50,000  acre-feet  capacity, 
filled  by  the  feed  canal  from  Umatilla  River. 

The  outlet  conduit  is  located  on  bed-rock  a  little  south  of  the 
center  of  the  canyon,  about  17  feet  above  the  bottom  of  the  canyon. 
The  outflow  is  controlled  from  a  tower  built  in  the  reservoir 
upon  bed-rock  at  the  upper  end  of  the  conduit,  and  reached  from 
a  bridge  extending  from  the  top  of  the  dam.  In  this  tower  are 
installed  two  cast-iron  sluice-gates,  each  4  feet  square,  placed  in 


COLD    SPRINGS    DAM  257 

series,  one  at  the  outside  of  the  gate-tower  and  the  other  at  the 
inside,  the  former  being  an  emergency  gate,  and  the  latter  used 
in  ordinary  service. 

The  outlet  conduit  is  built  of  reinforced  concrete  and  is  of 
horseshoe  cross-section,  6  feet  wide  and  5  feet  high,  with  cut-off 
collars  at  intervals  of  30  feet.  It  discharges  into  a  canal  cut  in 
rock  which  has  a  capacity  of  225  cubic  feet  per  second. 

A  spillway  is  provided  on  the  right  bank  just  above  the  dam. 
Its  concrete  overflow  lip  is  330  feet  in  length  and  is  8  feet  lower 
than  the  crest  of  the  dam.  After  spilling  over  the  crest,  the 
water  glides  down  a  2  to  1  concrete  slope  into  a  concrete-lined 
channel  nearly  parallel  to  the  spillway  lip  and  at  right  angles 
to  the  dam,  becoming  larger  and  deeper  until  it  discharges  into 
the  canyon  below  the  dam.  Although  this  channel  terminates 
in  rock,  it  is  provided  with  a  heavy  curtain  wall  to  prevent 
erosion.  The  concrete  lining  of  the  spillway  channel  is  con- 
structed in  blocks  10  feet  square  with  joints  underlaid  with 
cut-off  walls  of  concrete.  Where  it  is  founded  upon  sand,  it 
is  reinforced  and  provided  with  weep-holes  on  the  slope  nearest 
the  dam.  With  a  head  of  3  feet,  this  spillway  will  discharge 
about  5,900  second-feet,  leaving  5  feet  freeboard  on  the  dam; 
this  with  the  storage  of  3  feet  on  the  surface  of  the  reservoir 
will  take  care  of  the  largest  flood  known,  with  a  good  margin  to 
spare. 

The  foundation  and  left  abutment  of  the  dam  are  of  sandy 
earth,  while  the  right  abutment  is  volcanic  rock.  A  cut-off 
trench  was  excavated  to  depths  varying  from  6  to  20  feet,  under 
the  upper  toe  of  the  dam,  and  this  trench  was  filled  with  good 
material  well  puddled  and  rolled  in  place.  A  series  of  eight 
concrete  wing-walls,  1  foot  in  thickness  at  the  top,  form  the 
bond  between  the  right  abutment  and  the  dam.  One  of  the 
accompanying  illustrations  shows  this  dam  under  construction, 
indicating  the  methods  of  transporting,  spreading,  mixing,  sprink- 
ling and  rolling  the  materials.  The  concrete  cut-off  walls  joining 
the  end  of  the  earth  bank  to  the  right  abutment  are  also  shown  in 
this  view. 

An  extensive  bed  of  fine  gravel  occurs  on  the  side  of  the  can- 
yon below  the  dam,  and  this  was  the  principal  material  of  con- 
struction. The  gravel  contains  considerable  coarse  sand,  but  is 
so  open  that  it  would  not  alone  form  a  water-tight  structure. 


258  UMATILLA    PROJECT 

Accordingly,  the  gravel  in  the  body  of  the  dam  for  one-third  its 
thickness  nearest  the  water  slope  is  mixed  with  an  equal  volume 
of  loam  obtained  in  the  vicinity  and  the  middle  third  is  one- 
fourth  loam  and  three-fourths  gravel.  The  down-stream  third  is 
composed  of  the  run  of  the  gravel  bank,  which  is  nearly  pure 
gravel  and  coarse  sand.  The  water  slope  of  the  dam  is  covered 
with  1  foot  of  gravel,  and  both  slopes  blanketed  with  rock  as  it 
comes  from  the  quarry,  being  jagged,  irregular  stones  from  10 
to  100  pounds  in  weight  pitched  to  a  thickness  of  2  feet  on  the 
inner  and  1  foot  on  the  outer  slope. 

The  face  of  the  gravel  bank  was  from  20  to  50  feet  in  height 
overlaid  with  loam  from  2  to  10  feet  in  depth.  Where  the  loam 
layer  exceeded  8  feet  in  depth  it  was  loosened  in  advance  by 
powder.  The  gravel,  clean  or  mixed  with  loam,  was  loaded  in 
4-yard  dump  cars  by  a  70-ton  steam  shovel  with  a  2^-yard 
dipper.  The  average  length  of  gravel  haul  is  about  2.3  miles, 
with  a  considerable  proportion  of  up-grade  on  a  slope  of  1}^ 
per  cent,  the  total  rise  from  the  gravel  bank  to  the  summit  of 
the  track  being  65  feet.  There  was  one  switchback  on  this 
track,  entailing  the  corresponding  delay  to  each  train-load.  Four 
trains,  consisting  each  of  one  locomotive  and  ten  4-yard  dump 
cars,  were  employed  to  transport  this  material,  yet  frequently  the 
shovel  had  to  wait  for  cars. 

In  the  beginning  of  construction  a  trestle  65  feet  in  height 
was  built  across  the  canyon,  and  the  gravel  was  dumped  from 
that  until  the  dam  reached  the  height  of  the  trestle,  when  the 
track  was  laid  on  the  down-stream  edge  of  the  bank  and  raised 
and  drawn  in  as  the  work  progressed.  The  gravel  was  removed 
and  spread  by  means  of  four-horse  fresno  scrapers,  of  which 
eight  were  employed  for  this  purpose.  Two  men  and  a  dump 
cart  were  employed  removing  boulders  occurring  in  the  gravel, 
wliich  were  dumped  on  the  face  for  riprap. 

The  output  of  the  shovel  occasionally  reached  a  maximum 
of  about  2,300  yards  in  a  day  of  eight  hours,  and  the  average 
was  about  1,600  yards,  or  200  yards  per  hour.  The  cost  of 
the  principal  equipment  delivered  on  the  work  and  ready  for 
operation  used  in  handling  gravel  is  as  shown  in  Table  1, 
page  260. 

The  total  depreciation  on  the  equipment  has  been  figured  at 
$54,280.  The  total  amount  of  gravel  required  is  estimated  at 


260 


UMATILLA   PROJECT 


590,000  cubic  yards,  making  the  cost  of  depreciation  of  plant 
per  cubic  yard  moved,  9.2  cents. 

TABLE  1.— COST  OF  PRINCIPAL  EQUIPMENT,  COLD  SPRINGS  DAM 


Items 

Cost 

Depreciation 

One  steam  shovel,  70-ton,  2^-yd.  . 

$14,147 
15,121 

$8,147 
7,051 

Forty-five  dump  cars  
Four  miles  30-in.  track,  35-lb.  rails  
Trestle           

13,872 
25,187 
10,263 

9,012 
20,447 
9,263 

Sundries  

270 

$78,590 

$54,190 

The  loam  was  excavated  chiefly  by  means  of  an  orange  peel 
excavator,  by  which  it  was  loaded  into  dump  wagons  that  hauled 
and  placed  it  where  needed  to  mix  with  the  gravel.  Where  con- 
venient, some  of  the  loam  was  hauled  in  fresno  scrapers,  and  in 
portions  of  the  cut-off  trench  wheel  scrapers  were  used.  The 
loam  was  dumped  in  piles  from  the  wagons,  and  spread  by  means 
of  a  road  machine  into  a  layer  of  3  to  4  inches.  Upon  this  the 
fresnoes  spread  an  equal  layer  of  gravel,  after  which  these  two 
layers  were  mixed  by  three  2-horse  cultivators.  Disk  harrows 
were  at  first  employed  for  this  purpose  but  proved  to  be  not 
efficient,  so  were  discarded.  After  the  cultivators  had  mixed 
the  layer  it  was  thoroughly  wet  with  three  lines  of  sprinkling 
hose,  and  then  rolled  with  two  5-ton  loose  disk  rollers,  each  drawn 
by  six  horses,  and  formed  a  compact  layer  of  6  inches.  The  cost 
of  gravel  embankment  and  of  the  earth  embankment  is  given 
below: 

TABLE  2. — COST  OF  GRAVEL  EMBANKMENT  AND  OF  EARTH  EMBANKMENT, 
COLD  SPRINGS  DAM 


Gravel  Embankment 


Cents 


Excavating  by  steam  shovel 

Hauling,  railroad  maintenance,  etc 

Spreading  and  mixing 

Sprinkling 

Rolling 

Engineering,  superintendence  and  general  expense 
Repairs 

Total  cost  per  cubic  yard 


3.5 
7.0 
8.8 
1.0 
.5 
5.7 

Q   O 


35.7 


DISTRIBUTION    SYSTEM 
TABLE  2  — Continued. 


261 


Earth  Embankment 


Loading  and  hauling 

Spreading  and  mixing 

Sprinkling 

Rolling 

Depreciation 

Repairs 

Engineering,  superintendence,  and  general  expenses. 


Total  cost  per  cubic  yard. 


Cents 

9.5 
3.8 
1.1 

.8 
4.2 

.3 
3.7 


23.4 


As  the  dam  is  approximately  one-fourth  loam  and  three- 
fourths  gravel,  the  combined  cost  was  about  33  cents  per  cubic 
yard,  measured  in  excavation.  The  thorough  mixing  and  com- 
pacting caused  a  shrinkage  of  about  16  per  cent,  making  the  cost 
in  embankment  about  39  cents. 

Advertisement  called  out  two  bids,  the  lowest  of  which  was 
31  cents  for  earth  and  45  cents  for  gravel,  or  a  combined  rate  of 
41.5  cents.  Omitting  the  items  of  engineering  and  general  ex- 
penses which  would  have  been  incurred  by  the  United  States 
had  the  work  been  done  by  contract,  the  cost  by  Government 
forces  was  about  30  cents. 

The  Cold  Springs  Dam  and  the  project  of  which  it  is  a  part 
were  planned  by  Mr.  D.  C.  Henny,  supervising  engineer,  and 
Mr.  E.  G.  Hopson,  assistant  supervising  engineer,  Pacific  Divi- 
sion, in  consultation  with  Mr.  A.  J.  Wiley.  Mr.  J.  T.  Whistler 
was  engineer  in  charge  of  the  project  and  the  dam  was  built 
under  the  immediate  superintendence  of  Mr.  B.  H.  Davis. 

DISTRIBUTION   SYSTEM 

The  distribution  system  of  the  Umatilla  Project  is  extremely 
complicated  on  account  of  the  character  of  the  topography  and 
sandy  soil.  Many  pressure  pipes  were  necessary  to  reach  isolated 
tracts  or  to  cross  depressions,  and  the  open  sandy  soil  required  the 
lining  of  many  canals  and  laterals  to  avoid  excessive  seepage  losses. 
Many  drops  and  chutes  were  also  necessary  to  deliver  water  safely 
from  higher  to  lower  levels.  Experiment  developed  methods  of 
manufacture  and  construction  for  reinforced  concrete  pipe  that 
have  proved  of  value  and  interest  wherever  such  work  is  required. 

The  pipe  mostly  employed  was  made  of  concrete  of  one  part 
cement,  2.3  parts  sand,  and  three  parts  gravel.  The  sand  was 


2(1'.' 


UMATILLA    PROJECT 


clean  and  of  medium  grain.     The  gravel  all  passed  a  screen  of 
1-inch  mesh  and  was  held  on  a  screen  of  ^-inch  mesh. 

The  reinforcement  used  was  /i6-mch  mild-steel  wire  wound 
on  a  drum  into  a  helical  coil.  The  spacing  of  the  reinforcement 
was  varied  roughly  according  to  the  head  to  be  sustained,  so 
that  the  maximum  stress  should  not  exceed  12,000  pounds  per 
square  inch.  The  pipe  was  cast  in  lengths  of  8  feet  in  steel  forms. 
The  outer  forms  were  segmental,  three  segments  making  a  cir- 
cumference, the  segments  being  2  feet  high.  They  were  of  3^-inch 
steel  plate  stiffened  by  2"  X  3"  X  /is"  angles.  The  inner  form 


or  core  consisted  of  a  cylinder  8  feet  in  length,  formed  of 
steel  plate  with  hinges  to  permit  its  collapse  and  a  key  piece  to 
hold  it  in  shape  while  in  use.  The  inside  diameter  of  the  finished 
pipe  was  46  inches,  and  pipe  of  this  size  was  given  a  thickness  of 
lYi  inches.  Cast-iron  rings  were  placed  upon  the  ground  to 
serve  as  end  molds  to  the  joint  of  pipe.  The  pipes  were  all  man- 
ufactured on  end  in  a  yard  where  all  materials  were  handy  and 
conditions  favorable  and  were  hauled  to  the  point  of  installa- 
tion after  being  cured.  In  some  cases  the  pipes  were  laid  end 
to  end  in  the  trench  and  the  joints  sealed  by  pouring  concrete 
within  special  form  collars,  casting  a  concrete  collar  on  each 
joint  4  inches  wide  and  3  inches  thick,  reinforced  by  two  wires 
of  /i6-inch  mill  steel  hooked  together  at  the  ends.  In  other 
cases  the  collars  were  cast  in  the  yard  and  sealed  on  with  mortar  in 
the  field.  Both  methods  gave  good  results.  See  Figs.  45  and  46. 
Following  are  listed  some  of  the  pressure  pipes  used  on  the 
eastern  division  of  the  Umatilla  Project,  with  cost  of  making 
and  laying: 


Line 

Year 

Diam- 

Maxi- 
mum 

Length, 

Cos 

T 

Inches 

Head, 

Feet 

Feet 

Total 

Per  Foot 

M  
D2  
D3  
Ol 

1907 
1907 
1907 
1908 

47 
30 
30 
46 

55 
22 
35 
36 

4,680 
1,724 
1,395 

K  OIO 

$28,747 
4,618 
4,876 

oo  049 

$6.14 
2.67 

3.51 

4CT) 

R2.. 

1908 

46 

15 

1  904 

c  104 

404 

02  

1908 

30 

26 

3  556 

10  400 

2  93 

R3  
li  
Rl  
R4  
Dl. 

1908 
1909 
1909 
1910 
1910 

30 
30 
46 
30 
30 

25 
55 
110 
18 

je 

3,645 
392 
9,831 
1,622 

8,864 
3,954 
50,805 
3,736 

2.43 
4.24 
5.17 
2.30 

CONCRETE    PRESSURE    PIPE 


263 


Generally,  pipe  designed  for  25-foot  head  or  more  was  given 
one  or  more  coats  of  cement  grout,  which  decreases  percolation. 
The  above  cost  given  for  the  pipe  on  line  M,  which  was  the  first 
built,  includes  the  cost  of  all  preliminary  and  experimental  work 
which  accounts  for  the  apparent  high  cost. 

The  distribution  of  the  costs  among  the  detail  operations  for 
two  representative  lines  is  given  below,  one  being  30-inch  pipe 
and  the  other  46-inch.  In  the  case  of  the  30-inch,  it  is  the  long- 
est line  laid  of  that  size,  and  in  the  case  of  the  46-inch,  both 
the  longest  line  and  the  highest  head  of  that  size: 


Item 

COST  PER  L 

INEAR  FOOT 

R1^16" 

Dl-30' 

Engineering  

$0  048 

«n  QIC 

Labor:     Clearing  sage-brush  from  line  
Excavating  trench  ...  . 
Backfilling  and  protecting  line  with  brush  ;  ,  . 
Hauling  pipe  from  pipe  yard  
Laying  pipe  and  making  joints  
Tests  on  experimental  sections  
Painting  pipe  with  cement  grout 

.006 
.238 
.192 
.296 
.388 
.034 
043 

.000 
.230 
.200 
.152 

^. 

Priming  pipe  

002 

Miscellaneous  labor  and  hauling 

089 

949 

Manufacturing  pipe. 

2  905 

1  251 

Cost  of  cement   . 

069 

0481 

Steel  and  miscellaneous  supplies  

.080 

018 

Castings,  valves,  and  manholes  
General  expense 

.037 
741 

.018 
436 

Total  .  . 

$5.168 

$2.690 

The  new  canals  on  the  Umatilla  Project  showed  large  losses 
from  seepage  owing  to  the  open  character  of  the  soil.  In  fact,  in 
the  first  two  years  of  operation  less  than  half  the  water  drawn 
from  the  reservoir  ever  reached  the  farms,  and  the  loss  upon  the 
farms  was  likewise  large.  Many  of  the  canals  improved  with 
use  and  some  became  fairly  tight  by  settlement  and  some  silting. 
The  fact  that  most  of  the  water  was  drawn  from  the  reservoir, 
and  was  consequently  clear,  prevented  much  benefit  from  silting, 
and  it  was  early  decided  that  many  of  the  worst  canals  and  lat- 
erals must  be  lined  with  concrete  in  order  to  reduce  the  waste 
of  water  stored  at  great  expense,  and  also  in  order  to  reduce  the 
damage  to  lower  lands  which  were  being  waterlogged  by  the 
excessive  seepage. 


264 


UMATILLA   PROJECT 


About  7,000  linear  feet  of  16-inch  and  11,000  linear  feet  of 
12-inch  pipe  were  used  in  the  system  either  as  pipe  drops  or  as 
pressure  pipe  under  low  heads.  They  were  mixed  rather  dry  and 
with  great  care  and  generally  without  reinforcement.  For  heads 
over  15  feet  the  pipe  was  reinforced  with  No.  10  wire.  The  aver- 


I 


FIG.  86. — Drop  from  Main  Canal,  Umatilla  Project,  Oregon. 

age  cost  of  16-inch  pipe  was  30  cents  per  foot  and  of  12-inch 
pipe  20  cents  per  foot. 

All  of  the  pipe  used  on  the  project  has  given  satisfactory 
service,  no  failures  and  no  serious  leaks  having  occurred. 

The  large  losses  of  water  from  canals  and  laterals  and  the 
large  quantity  escaping  into  the  subsoil  on  the  farms  brought 
up  the  ground  water  table  on  the  lower  lands,  and  soon  bogs  and 
ponds  began  to  appear  and  gradually  to  enlarge.  This  condition 
was  aggravated  by  the  absence  of  natural  drainage  lines  and  the 
existence  of  isolated  depressions  characteristic  of  a  topography 
formed  by  wind.  In  fact,  but  little  of  the  lost  water  was  able 
to  reach  the  river  except  through  the  subsoil.  To  correct  the 
seepage  and  prevent  its  spread,  about  10  miles  of  open  drainage 
channels  were  excavated  and  8,350  feet  of  underground  tile  drains 


WEST   EXTENSION  265 

were  constructed.  The  drainage  from  the  project  into  the  Uma- 
tilla  River  exceeds  100  cubic  feet  per  second  in  the  summer,  and 
forms  the  major  portion  of  the  water  supply  available  for  diver- 
sion to  irrigate  the  west  extension  of  the  project. 

WEST   EXTENSION 

The  west  extension  of  the  Umatilla  Project  takes  water  from 
the  river  on  the  left  bank  below  all  other  important  diversions  to 
irrigate  lands  in  the  Columbia  Valley  near  Irrigon  and  westward. 
The  water  supply  consists  mainly  of  the  return  seepage,  drain- 
age, and  waste  water  from  the  lands  on  the  various  projects  irri- 
gated above,  and  is  deemed  ample  for  the  irrigation  of  about 
10,000  acres  of  land.  A  basin  occurs  in  the  valley  among  the 
irrigable  lands,  which  can  readily  be  closed  by  embankments  to 
form  a  reservoir  that  could  receive  water  from  the  main  canal 
and  extend  the  acreage  by  several  thousand  acres.  The  open, 
sandy  character  of  the  subsoil  suggests  doubt  as  to  its  capacity 
for  retaining  water,  but  it  can  be  tried  at  small  expense  by  means 
of  low  embankments  before  any  large  investment  is  made.  A 
reservoir  has  also  been  examined  to  store  water  between  Stan- 
field  and  Hermiston,  but  its  feasibility  is  in  doubt,  mainly  on 
account  of  the  great  expense  involved  in  the  long,  heavy  em- 
bankment and  the  large  land  damages  to  be  paid,  and  also  the 
open  character  of  the  coarse,  sandy  hills  that  form  the  abutments 
of  the  proposed  dam. 

THREE-MILE    FALLS   DIVERSION   DAM 

This  dam  is  located  about  half-way  between  Hermiston  and 
Umatilla  on  the  Umatilla  River.  It  is  built  of  concrete  of  a 
multiple  arch  design,  the  axis  being  curved  to  a  radius  of  1,200 
feet.  There  are  forty  arches  resting  against  buttresses  which  are 
20  feet  eentej  to  center.  The  arches  are  1  foot  thick  at  the 
crest  and  increase  in  thickness  downward  at  the  rate  of  1J^  inch 
for  every  foot  vertically.  The  outer  face  of  each  arch  is  curved 
to  a  radius  of  18  feet,  and  the  inner  face  to  a  radius  varying  from 
16  to  17  feet,  according  to  thickness.  The  maximum  height  of 
the  dam  above  the  river-bed  is  about  24  feet.  The  up-stream 
face  of  the  arches  is  inclined  to  a  slope  of  1^  to  1,  and  the  down- 
stream edges  of  the  buttresses  have  a  batter  of  1  in  12.  A  back 


DIVERSION    DAM  267 

wall  traverses  the  entire  length  of  the  dam  except  a  distance  of 
180  feet  in  the  river  section.  This  wall  averages  4  feet  high  and 
1  foot  thick,  and  is  reinforced  longitudinally  with  six  half-inch 
rods,  fastened  securely  at  their  intersections  with  the  steel  in  the 
piers. 

At  the  up-stream  toe  of  the  dam  is  a  heavy  cut-off  wall,  6  feet 
thick  and  from  6  to  10  feet  deep. 

The  buttresses  are  18  inches  thick  and  are  reinforced  with 
two  parallel  vertical  tiers  of  J/£-inch  steel  spaced  2  feet  apart. 
The  crest  of  the  dam  is  4  feet  wide  and  spans  the  space  between 
buttresses  as  an  arch  of  16-foot  radius,  heavily  reinforced  by 
^2-inch  rods  spaced  6  inches  apart  each  way.  An  inspection 
gallery  runs  the  length  of  the  higher  part  of  the  dam,  and  greatly 
stiffens  it.  The  floor  of  this  gallery  is  3  inches  thick  and  is  sup- 
ported by  a  floor-beam  on  each  edge,  6  inches  thick  and  11  inches 
deep,  and  reinforced  with  two  3^-inch  rods  wired  at  the  ends  with 
the  steel  in  the  buttresses.  Openings  occur  in  the  buttresses  to 
allow  the  gallery  to  extend  through. 

Under  arches  6,  7,  and  8,  counting  from  the  west  abutment, 
are  located  nine  sluice  openings,  three  under  each  arch.  Each 
opening  is  4  feet  wide  by  2^  feet  high,  and  is  provided  with 
flash-board  grooves,  10  inches  wide  and  4  inches  deep.  These 
sluices  were  provided  to  pass  the  running  stream  during  con- 
struction. They  were  closed  after  the  completion  of  the  dam 
by  dropping  reinforced  concrete  slabs  down  the  grooves. 

The  head-works  of  the  canal  are  located  on  the  left  bank  of 
the  river  at  the  west  abutment  of  the  dam  and  are  at  right  angles 
to  the  axis  of  the  dam.  There  are  three  gate  openings,  each  5 
feet  wide  and  6  feet  high,  operated  in  a  12  X  20  concrete  gate- 
house. Just  below  the  gate-house  a  concrete  highway  bridge 
spans  the  canal.  Just  below  the  bridge  are  ten  revolving  fish 
screens,  installed  between  piers. 

The  sandy  soil  and  coarse  subsoil  of  the  lands  of  the  west 
extension,  together  with  the  experience  with  similar  conditions  on 
the  eastern  division  of  the  project,  led  to  a  decision  that  the  entire 
canal  and  distribution  system  of  the  west  extension  should  con- 
sist of  concrete  channels.  The  lining  of  canals  and  the  manu- 
facture and  installation  of  concrete  pipe  therefore  become  even 
more  important  than  on  the  eastern  division. 

To  reduce  the  amount  of  lining,  save  head  and  provide  .the 


WEST    EXTENSION    CANALS  269 

necessary  velocities  for  cleansing  purposes,  the  section  chosen 
fqr  canals  was  deep  and  narrow.  The  side  slopes  were  \y%  to  1, 
and  the  bottom  on  a  curved  invert  as  shown  in  the  drawing. 
The  main  canal  at  its  head  has  a  capacity  of  360  cubic  feet  per 
second,  a  total  depth  of  9J/2  feet,  a  maximum  water  depth  of 
7  feet,  leaving  2  feet  freeboard  on  the  bank.  The  concrete 
lining  is  3  inches  thick,  and  extends  6  inches  vertically  higher 
than  the  normal  water  level  of  the  full  canal.  The  lower  bank 
has  a  top  width  of  12  feet  in  order  to  serve  as  a  roadway.  The 
lining  for  the  main  canal  was  3  inches  thick,  and  was  mixed  by 
machine  in  the  proportions  1  :  3.5  :  5.2. 

The  gravel  all  passed  a  2-inch  screen  and  was  held  on  a  3/g-inch. 
Experience  indicates  that  less  smoothing  would  have  been  re- 
quired with  smaller  gravel.  The  theoretical  yardage  of  concrete 
required  per  linear  foot  was  .285,  but  .325  was  actually  required, 
due  to  imperfect  finishing  and  losses,  an  increase  of  about  14 
per  cent;  1.04  barrel  of  cement  was  used  per  cubic  yard,  and  the 
total  cost  per  cubic  yard  was  $8.16. 

The  Umatilla  Project  is  in  charge  of  H.  D.  Newell,  under 
whom  the  West  Extension  is  being  built. 


CHAPTER  XVII 
KLAMATH  PROJECT 

DESCRIPTION 

The  topography  of  the  Klamath  Project  is  characterized  by 
a  rather  complicated  system  of  lakes  and  rivers  with  somewhat 
curious  relations  to  each  other. 

Upper  Klamath  Lake  is  a  large,  fresh-water  lake  discharging 
its  surplus  through  the  Klamath  River  to  the  Pacific.  Lower 
Klamath  Lake  has  a  very  small  drainage  directly  tributary  to 
it  but  is  connected  naturally  with  the  Klamath  River  by  a  narrow 
slough.  During  the  season  of  high  water  this  slough  carries 
water  from  Klamath  River  to  the  lake,  and  when  the  freshets 
have  passed  and  the  level  of  the  river  declines,  the  current  of  the 
slough  is  reversed  and  it  carries  water  from  the  lake  to  the  river. 
Thus  the  stage  of  the  lake  follows  tardily  that  of  the  river. 

Clear  Lake  bears  a  similar  relation  to  Lost  River  and  its  upper 
feeder,  Willow  Creek.  When  the  latter  was  in  freshet  it  over- 
flowed into  Clear  Lake,  which  discharged  its  surplus  water  through 
Lost  River.  Lost  River  follows  a  circuitous  course  and  discharges 
into  TuleLake,  which  has  no  visible  outlet,  but  disposes  of  its  water 
by  evaporation  and  seepage.  It  normally  covers  an  area  of  about 
90,000  acres,  which  fluctuates  with  the  varying  discharges  of  dif- 
ferent years  and  cycles  of  years. 

MAIN   CANAL 

The  main  irrigation  canal  of  the  Klamath  Project  heads  in 
Upper  Klamath  Lake.  The  head-works  at  the  lake  consist  of  six 
steel  gates  set  in  concrete,  each  5  feet  wide  and  8  feet  high,  sepa- 
rated by  piers  2  feet  thick,  with  grooves  for  flash-boards  so  that  the 
gates  can  be  unwatered  for  examination  or  repair.  The  capacity 
at  low  water  is  about  1,000  cubic  feet  per  second.  (See  5th 
Annual  Report,  page  258.) 

The  canal  for  about  2,700  feet  is  in  deep  cut  13^  feet  in  bottom 
width,  with  side  slopes  about  ^  to  1  and  lined  with  concrete 
270 


CLEAR    LAKE    RESERVOIR 


271 


6  inches  thick.  At  the 
end  of  this  cut  the  water 
enters  a  tunnel  of  the 
same  width,  rectangular 
except  for  an  arched  top, 
and  also  1  ned  with 
concrete. 

About  9  miles  below 
the  head-works  a  large 
lateral,  known  as  the 
South  Branch  Canal, 
branches  to  the  southward 
while  the  main  canal  con- 
tinues, in  a  general  east- 
erly course,  to  the  lower 
end  of  Poe  Valley,  where 
it  sends  a  lateral  eastward 
to  irrigate  the  north  side 
of  Poe  Valley,  and  crosses 
Lost  River  in  a  flume, 
after  which  it  branches  to 
the  east  and  west,  to  wa- 
ter lands  on  the  south  side 
of  Lost  River,  those  to  the 
east  being  in  Poe  Valley 
and  those  in  the  west  in- 
cluding a  strip  of  land 
parallel  to  Lost  River, 
reaching  to  the  northern 
end  of  Tule  Lake. 

CLEAR   LAKE    RESERVOIR 

Lost  River  is  the  main 
source  of  water  supply  to 
Tule  Lake,  from  which  it 
is  all  lost  by  evaporation 
and  seepage,  there  being 
no  visible  outlet.  The 
plan  of  the  reclamation 
project  involves  the  un- 


272  KLAMATH    PROJECT 

watering  of  a  portion  of  the  lake  bed,  and  its  irrigation 
afterward.  To  exclude  from  the  lake  so  far  as  possible  the 
waters  of  Lost  River,  a  regulating  reservoir  is  provided  at  Clear 
Lake,  and  the  regulated  waters  are  diverted  by  a  dam  near  Wil- 
son's'Bridge  into  a  channel  with  a  capacity  of  350  cubic  feet  per 
second,  and  carried  thereby  to  Klamath  River.  In  this  way, 
only  the  flood  waters  of  Lost  River,  exceeding  the  above  capacity 
are  allowed  to  reach  Tule  Lake. 

The  storage  dam  at  Clear  Lake  is  a  combination  of  earth  and 
rock-fill  and  is  33  feet  high.  This  dam  has  a  core-wall  only  at 
the  base.  The  rock-fill  grades  from  coarse  to  fine  toward  the 
earth-fill,  which  serves  to  produce  water-tightness  and  is  protected 
from  wave  action  by  a  rough  pavement  of  rock.  The  lower  or 
loose  rock  slope  has  an  inclination  of  about  1%  to  1.  The  area 
of  the  reservoir  formed  is  about  25,000  acres,  and  has  so  far  dis- 
posed of  all  surplus  water  by  evaporation  and  seepage,  and  this 
supply  is  thereby  entirely  eliminated  from  Tule  Lake. 

LOST  RIVER   DIVERSION  DAM 

The  diversion  dam  near  Wilson's  Bridge  is  of  unique  design, 
as  shown  in  the  drawing,  Fig.  90.  It  was  necessary  to  raise  the 
water  nearly  to  the  elevation  of  the  flood  plain  in  order  to  make 
the  diversion  channel  feasible.  On  the  other  hand,  the  water 
must  not  be  permitted  to  much  exceed  the  same  level  in  flood 
times  lest  it  overflow  valuable  lands  in  the  valley  above,  which 
has  a  very  flat  gradient.  It  thus  became  necessary  to  provide 
a  long  overflow  weir  with  movable  crest,  to  afford  the  necessary 
discharge  at  the  permissible  head.  To  secure  this,  the  dam  was 
designed  in  plan  to  be  of  the  shape  of  an  elongated  horseshoe 
with  the  toe  up-stream.  This  causes  the  overflow  to  fall  in  the 
interior  of  the  horsehoe,  and  thus  to  dissipate  its  surplus  energy 
in  opposing  currents  and  whirlpools  before  leaving  the  solid  con- 
crete structure,  which  it  leaves  very  placidly.  A  similar  length 
of  weir  across  the  valley  would  have  involved  a  large  amount  of 
excavation  to  cany  the  structure  down  to  suitable  foundation, 
besides  requiring  expensive  provisions  for  conducting  the  overflow 
harmlessly  to  the  natural  channel  below. 


274 


KLAMATH  PROJECT 
KENO  POWER  CANAL, 


When  the  Klamath  Project  was  taken  up,  the  low-water  flow 
from  Upper  Klamath  Lake  was  nearly  all  appropriated  by  a 
power  development  at  the  rapids  just  below  the  outlet.  The 
needs  of  the  project  required  that  this  right  be  extinguished  at 
least  to  the  extent  of  releasing  enough  water  for  the  extensions 


FIG.  91. — Lost  River  Diversion  Dam,  Klamath  Project. 

projected.  This  was  accomplished  by  the  construction  of  a  power 
canal  from  the  lake  to  a  point  6,200  feet  below,  just  opposite 
the  town  of  Klamath  Falls.  At  this  point  a  drop  of  50  feet  is 
obtained,  and  a  discharge  of  200  cubic  feet  per  second  develops 
sufficient  power  to  replace  the  old  power  right.  The  power  canal, 
however,  has  a  capacity  of  about  600  cubic  feet  per  second,  which 
leaves  about  400  cubic  feet  for  future  use  in  power  development. 
This  is  destined  for  use  in  pumping  irrigation  water  to  levels  too 
high  to  be  served  by  gravity,  and  for  assisting  in  drainage  oper- 
ations. 

The  power  canal  has  an  overflow  weir  to  dispose  of  surplus 
waters  incident  to  the  fluctuating  demands  of  the  power-plant. 


KLAMATH   MARSHES  277 

The  necessary  length  of  overfall  was  obtained  by  building  the 
weir  in  a  series  of  rectangles,  as  shown  in  the  illustration,  Fig.  93. 

KLAMATH   MARSHES 

One  feature  of  the  Klamath  Project  is  the  possible  reclama- 
tion of  the  lower  Klamath  marshes  and  a. portion  of  Lower  Kla- 
math Lake.  This  lake  receives  overflow  water  from  Klamath 
River  when  that  stream  is  high,  and  returns  a  portion  to  the 
river  when  low.  The  development  of  the  project  attracted  a 
railroad  to  Klamath  Falls,  to  reach  which  point  a  fill  across  the 
marsh  was  necessary. 

Arrangements  were  made  with  the  railroad  company  by  which 
the  United  States  assumed  the  responsibility  of  closing  naviga- 
tion between  the  river  and  lake,  and  in  return  the  railroad  com- 
pany constructed  a  muck  ditch  under  the  dike  and  otherwise 
adapted  it  to  serve  as  a  levee  to  keep  water  out  of  the  lake.  A 
culvert  was  provided  through  this  levee,  with  provision  for  con- 
trolling the  flow  of  water  in  either  direction. 

The  reclamation  of  the  marshes,  however,  received  a  serious 
setback  by  the  results  of  experiments  which  were  made  to  test 
their  fertility.  A  small  area  in  the  northwest  part  was  diked 
off  and  unwatered  by  pumping.  Drain  ditches  were  provided 
to  control  the  ground  water,  and  crops  were  planted,  but  the  results 
were  so  poor  as  to  cast  grave  doubt  upon  the  advisability  of 
attempting  reclamation,  at  least  with  hopes  of  securing  anything 
better  than  pasture.  The  experiment  of  reclamation  must,  there- 
fore, proceed  with  caution  in  order  to  avoid  unproductive  ex- 
penditures. 

The  earlier  works  of  the  Klamath  Project  were  built  under 
the  direction  of  D.  W.  Murphy,  who  was  succeeded  by  W.  W. 
Patch,  under  whom  the  Lost  River  Dam  and  some  other  features 
were  constructed.  J.  B.  Lippincott,  D.  C.  Henny,  and  E.  G. 
Hopson  were  successively  Supervising  Engineers. 


CHAPTER  XVIII 
BELLE  FOURCHE  PROJECT 

DESCRIPTION 

The  Belle  Fourche  River  drains  an  area  of  about  4,300  square 
miles  in  western  South  Dakota  and  eastern  Wyoming,  includ- 
ing the  northern  slope  of  the  Black  Hills.  The  discharge  of  the 
stream  occurs  mostly  in  the  spring  and  early  summer  months,  the 
river  being  relatively  low  in  late  summer  and  fall.  Irrigation  on 
a  large  scale,  therefore,  must  depend  upon  storage  for  a  full 
season's  supply. 

The  Reclamation  Project  provides  for  the  diversion  of  the 
river  at  a  point  a  short  distance  below  the  mouth  of  the  Red 
Water,  into  a  feed  canal  which  carries  it  to  a  storage  reservoir 
provided  on  Owl  Creek  at  its  junction  with  Dry  Creek,  about 
seven  miles  from  the  diversion  point.  The  irrigable  land  is  situ- 
ated on  both  sides  of  Belle  Fourche  River,  about  two-thirds  being 
on  the  north  side  and  one-third  on  the  south. 

DIVERSION  DAM  AND    FEED    CANAL 

The  diversion  of  the  Belle  Fourche  River  into  the  feed  canal 
is  accomplished  by  a  dam  having  a  total  length  of  1,300  feet,  400 
feet  of  which  is  an  ogee  concrete  overflow  weir  in  the  river  sec- 
tion, and  900  feet  is  an  earth  embankment  of  6,000  cubic  yards, 
paved  with  rock  on  the  water  slope.  The  concrete  weir  is  25  feet 
high  and  contains  12,200  cubic  yards.  It  is  founded  on  shale,  and 
its  right  abutment  joins  the  earth  embankment.  The  left  abut- 
ment is  a  compound  structure,  comprising  the  head-works  of  the 
feed  canal  and  the  sluice-gates  of  the  dam,  designed  to  clear  mud 
and  debris  from  the  entrance  to  the  feed  canal.  There  are  three 
sluice-gates  4X7  feet,  and  seven  gates  to  the  canal  head-works, 
each  4X6  feet.  All  the  gates  are  cast  iron  with  rising  stems  of 
bronze  and  ball-bearing  gears  operated  by  hand.  The  back  of 
the  dam  is  vertical,  the  top  is  curved  on  a  5-foot  radius  to  thick- 
273 


FEED    CANAL 


279 


ness  of  about  6  feet,  and  the  front  slope  is  %  to  1.  The  bed  of 
the  river  below  the  dam  is  protected  from  the  impact  of  the 
water  for  about  10  feet,  with  a  2-foot  layer  of  concrete,  and  with 
riprap  both  on  bottom  and  sides  for  a  considerable  distance 
farther.  The  dike  on  the  right  bank  has  a  water  slope  of  3  to  1, 


FIG.  94.— Head-gates,  Belle  Fourche  Feed  Canal. 

protected  with  rock  paving,  a  top  width  of  10  feet,  and  a  down- 
stream slope  of  lj/2  to  1. 

The  grade  of  the  feed  canal  is  about  8  feet  above  low  water 
in  the  river,  and  the  depth  is  10  feet.  The  bottom  width  is  40 
feet,  and  the  side  slopes  are  1^  to  1,  except  in  thorough  cuts, 
where  they  are  1  to  1.  The  banks  stand  3  feet  above  the  water- 
level,  and  have  a  top  width  of  8  feet. 

The  grade  of  the  canal  is  .0002,  and  its  capacity  is  about 
1,600  second  feet.  It  has  a  length  of  G}^  miles,  and  enters  the 
reservoir  basin  through  a  43-foot  cut. 

Its  terminus  is  protected  by  a  semicircular  concrete  weir,  180 
feet  long,  founded  on  shale,  with  a  maximum  depth  of  2  feet  of 
water  over  its  crest  at  full  canal  discharge. 


280 


BELLE    FOURCHE    PROJECT 


Where  the  feed  canal  crosses  Crow  Creek,  a  concrete  over- 
flow weir  180  feet  long  is  designed  to  discharge  floods  in  Crow 
Creek,  and  in  this  weir  are  provided  three  sluice-gates,  5  X  10 
feet  each,  with  sills  below  the  grade  of  the  canal,  to  sluice  out 
the  mud  washed  in  by  Crow  Creek. 


BELLE   FOURCHE    RESERVOIR 

The  storage  reservoir  is  formed  by  an  earthen  dam  built 
across  the  valley  of  Owl  Creek  just  below  its  junction  with  Diy 
Creek,  about  10  miles  northeast  of  the  town  of  Belle  Fourche. 

The  reservoir  capacity  is  shown  in  the  following  table: 

CAPACITY  or  BELLE  FOURCHE  RESERVOIR 


Elevation, 
Feet  above  Sea-Level 

Area, 
Acres 

Section, 
Acre-Feet 

Capacity, 

Acre-Feet 
Outlet 

2,920 

583 

2,930.  .  . 

1  240 

8931 

8391 

2,940.  .  . 

2084 

16508 

25  439 

2,950  
2,960  

3,852 
5573 

29,993 
46  768 

55^432 
109  900 

2,970  
2,975  

7,174 
8  010 

63,612 
37  958 

165,812 
9Q3  770* 

2,980  

8,888 

42,246 

246,016 

*  Spillway. 

The  dam  is  6,493  feet  long,  has  a  maximum  height  of  about 
122  feet,  and  contains  1,634,000  cubic  yards  of  earth.  The  water 
slope  of  the  dam  for  a  short  distance  above  the  toe  is  5  to  1,  thia 
flat  slope  being  near  the  bottom  and  unprotected  against  wave 
action.  At  the  upper  edge  of  this  slope,  70  feet  below  the  top 
of  the  dam,  is  an  8-foot  berm,  where  a  row  of  round  piling  is 
driven  into  the  foundation,  on  5-foot  centers,  the  heads  project- 
ing above  the  slope  and  capped  with  concrete  sufficiently  to  serve 
as  a  footing  for  the  paving  on  the  slope  above.  From  this  line 
up  to  the  normal  water  level  the  slope  is  2  to  1,  and  above  that 
point  to  the  top  the  slope  is  1^  to  1.  The  top  width  is  18.6  feet. 

The  down-stream  slope  is  1%  to  1,  to  a  line  30  feet  below 
the  top,  where  an  8-foot  berm  occurs,  below  which  the  slope  is 
2  to  1  to  a  similar  berm  30  feet  lower,  and  the  clay  is  continued 
on  a  2  to  1  slope  to  the  base.  A  blanket  of  gravel  is  placed  from 
the  lower  berm  to  the  base,  so  as  to  widen  the  berm  to  14  feet, 


OWL    CREEK   DAM 


281 


and  flatten  the  slope  to  the  base  to  2^  to  1.  On  each  berm  a 
concrete  gutter  is  placed  to  catch  rain-water  running  down  the 
slope  and  conduct  it  away  from  the  dam. 

The  dam  is  provided  with  four  rows  of  perforated  pipes  in- 
stalled to  show  the  level  of  water  in  the  dam  and  thus  indicate 
the  lines  of  saturation.  Observations  taken  on  these 
do  not  indicate  any  saturation  of  embankment. 


pipes 


CONSTRUCTION    OF   OWL    CREEK   DAM 

The  material  on  which  the  dam  rests  is  a  heavy  compact 
clay,  the  surface  residual  of  soft  shale,  into  which  the  clay  gradu- 
ally merges  at  a  depth  of  20  to  40  feet  below  the  surface.  The 
dam  is  constructed  entirely  of  this  clay,  of  which  nearly  all  the 
soil  of  the  neighborhood  consists. 

A  cut-off  trench  was  excavated  the  entire  length  of  the  dam 
to  a  depth  of  from  5  to  20  feet,  10  feet  wide  on  the  bottom,  with 
side  slopes  of  1  to  1.  It  was  refilled  with  selected  material  in 
4-inch  layers,  wetted  and  rolled.  Additional  trenches  were  pro- 
vided in  the  wider  portions  of  the  base. 

The  clay  of  which  the  dam  is  built,  like  all  clays  in  the  arid 
West,  contains  some  soluble  salts,  which  are  evidently  not  desir- 
able in  a  bank  required  to  resist  percolation  of  water.  Accord- 
ingly, samples  were  taken  of  the  materials  from  various  pits  near 
the  work,  and  were  tested  in  the  laboratory  of  the  Geological 
Survey. 


Sample  No. 

Per  Cent 
Soluble 
Matter 

Most  Abundant 
Soluble 
Salt 

3  

1.68 

The     sulphate     and     car- 

4   

1.37 

bonate  (in  solution  the 

6  

2.92 

bicarbonate)  of  calcium 

7                                                    

3.02 

were   in   each   case   the 

12                                                   

1.96 

prevailing  salts. 

13                                                       

2.94 

15                                           

2.85 

18                                                

1.98 

Five  grams  of  the  powdered  earth  were  introduced  into  a 
platinum  dish  and  500  cubic  centimeters  of  cold  distilled  water 
added,  the  earth  stirred  for  about  seven  hours,  and  the  whole 


282  BELLE    FOURCHE    PROJECT 

left  standing  for  twenty-four  hours.  The  solution  was  then  fil- 
tered and  the  remaining  insoluble  earth  washed  three  times  with 
about  300  cubic  centimeters  of  cold,  distilled  water  for  each 
washing.  The  nitrate  was  then  evaporated  to  dryness  in  a  plati- 
num dish,  and  heated  to  180  degrees  Centigrade  to  constant 
weight. 

Localities  represented  by  samples  showing  more  than  2  per 
cent  of  soluble  matter  were  rejected. 

The  clay  was  placed  in  the  dam  partly  by  steam-shovels  and 
dump  cars  drawn  by  locomotives,  and  partly  by  elevating  graders 
and  dump  wagons.  The  earth  dumped  from  cars  was  first  spread 
by  fresno  scrapers  and  levelled  with  road  graders.  That  depos- 
ited by  wagons  was  levelled  by  the  graders.  The  layers  were 
6  inches  thick,  and  were  sprinkled  with  hose  supplied  by  pipes 
and  pumps. 

The  water  was  at  first  secured  by  the  construction  of  tem- 
porary earth  embankments  to  store  the  storm  water  of  Owl  Creek; 
but  this  supply  was  so  precarious  that  the  contractor  bored  two 
artesian  wells,  each  1,430  feet  deep,  which  solved  the  problem. 

The  earth  of  which  the  dam  is  composed  being  nearly  pure 
clay,  care  was  taken  not  to  supersaturate  it.  The  water  was  in 
general  limited  to  the  quantity  barely  sufficient  to  make  rolling 
effective  and  permit  consolidation.  In  a  few  spots  leaky  pipes, 
or  other  carelessness  on  the  part  of  the  contractor,  formed  boggy 
places,  but  these  were  very  limited  in  number  and  extent,  and 
the  surplus  water  was  absorbed  by  the  surrounding  earth.  Bor- 
ings in  the  solidified  embankment  with  a  post  auger  showed 
uniformly  that  the  earth  was  barely  moist  and  so  compact  as 
to  receive  a  high  polish.  In  the  progress  of  the  work  a  few  bri- 
quets were  made  by  pressing  the  moist  clay  into  briquet  molds 
and  drying  them  in  the  sun.  Some  of  these  clay  briquets  showed 
a  tensile  strength  of  75  pounds  per  square  inch.  All  the  indica- 
tions are  that  the  clay  embankment  is  very  stable  and  practically 
impervious  to  water.  The  earth  occupies  about  1  per  cent  more 
space  in  embankment  than  in  excavation. 

The  rolling  was  done  at  first  by  a  12-ton  road  roller,  but  this 
was  later  succeeded  by  21-ton  traction  engines,  with  the  rear 
wheels  widened  on  the  rim  to  3  feet  each.  These  were  more 
effective  and  satisfactory  than  the  road  roller.  It  was  recog- 
nized as  impossible  to  consolidate  the  bank  to  the  extreme  edge 


OWL   CREEK   DAM  283 

by  rolling,  owing  to  the  lateral  movement  of  the  earth  under 
pressure.  For  this  reason  the  specifications  required  the  bank 
to  be  built  1  foot  beyond  the  desired  lines  on  the  reservoir  side, 
and  this  extra  foot  of  loose  material  to  be  later  removed  before 
placing  the  pavement. 


PAVEMENT   OF   OWL   CREEK   DAM 

No  rock  occurs  anywhere  in  the  neighborhood  of  the  dam, 
and  it  was  provided  that  the  water  slope  be  paved  with  concrete 
blocks  to  protect  it  from  wave  action.  The  blocks  were  6>£  feet 
long,  5  feet  wide,  and  8  inches  thick,  laid  in  horizontal  courses 
breaking  vertical  joints.  Under  this  pavement  was  placed  a 
gravel  base,  consisting  of  1  foot  of  natural  gravel  next  to  the 
earth,  and  over  this  1  foot  of  screened  gravel. 

The  nearest  available  gravel  pit  was  near  the  river,  about  6 
miles  from  the  dam.  At  that  point  the  blocks  were  manufac- 
tured and  later  hauled  to  the  dam.  The  gravel  used  in  the  dam 
was  hauled  from  the  same  point. 

The  blocks  were  laid  with  care,  forming  a  very  smooth  surface, 
with  cracks  varying  from  zero  to  a  few  of  nearly  an  inch,  but 
most  of  them  less  than  ^  an  inch,  and  the  average  perhaps  % 
of  an  inch. 

An  accident  to  the  pavement  occurred  in  1912,  which  is 
of  interest.  On  the  night  of  April  13,  1912,  when  the  water  in 
the  reservoir  stood  at  elevation  2,959,  a  very  high  wind  from 
the  west,  estimated  at  70  miles  per  hour,  caused  waves  in  the 
reservoir  8  or  10  feet  in  height  to  beat  against  the  concreted 
slope  of  the  dam.  This  attack  from  without  was  resisted  success- 
fully, but  at  the  culmination  of  the  storm,  which  occurred  be- 
tween midnight  and  4  A.M.,  April  14,  the  receding  waves  periodi- 
cally relieved  the  weight  on  the  concrete  blocks  so  that  the  back 
pressure  of  the  water  behind  the  pavement  displaced  several 
blocks  in  the  seventeenth  course,  the  top  of  which  is  at  elevation 
2,958.  The  displacement  of  these  blocks  permitted  the  waves 
to  act  upon  their  gravel  foundation  and  gradually  undermined 
the  blocks  above  as  far  up  the  slope  as  the  waves  could  act,  viz.: 
at  some  points  to  elevation  2,973,  and  also  laterally  to  a  greater 
extent,  allowing  the  blocks  to  settle  down  against  the  clay  slope, 
forming  an  irregular  pavement. 


284  BELLE   FOURCHE    PROJECT 

In  all,  about  250  blocks,  out  of  the  16,000  forming  the  pave- 
ment of  the  dam  were  undermined  and  more  or  less  displaced, 
but  none  were  lost  or  broken.  The  total  gravel  removed  was 
about  600  cubic  yards,  and  only  a  small  quantity  of  clay  was 
missed,  as  this  resisted  the  wave  action  remarkably  well. 

The  wind  that  caused  the  initial  displacement  of  blocks  was 
estimated  by  the  project  engineer  to  be  blowing  at  the  rate  of 
70  miles  per  hour,  but  this  is  uncertain,  as  no  actual  observations 
of  the  rate  were  made  at  this  point.  The  anemometer  obser- 
vations taken  once  a  day  at  the  experiment  farm,  12  miles  east  of 
the  dam,  showed  the  mean  wind  velocity  for  the  twenty-four  hours 
which  preceded  7.30  A.M.,  April  14,  as  24.6  miles  per  hour.  On 
the  same  night  wind  velocities  were  reported  in  Denver  as  high 
as  75  miles  per  hour,  and  considerable  damage  was  reported  on 
concrete  paving  of  dams,  and  on  other  structures. 

The  water  at  all  times  stood  in  the  gravel  against  the  clay 
under  the  concrete  blocks,  at  about  the  same  height  as  the  gen- 
eral level  of  the  water  in  the  open  reservoir.  The  sudden  reces- 
sion of  the  high  waves  removed  the  water  pressure  from  the 
outside  of  the  blocks,  leaving  an  unbalanced  hydrostatic  pressure 
behind,  equal  to  the  difference  between  the  trough  of  the  wave 
and  the  mean  level  of  the  reservoir.  The  head  thus  produced 
probably  reached  4  or  5  feet,  producing  a  pressure  more  than 
double  the  weight  of  the  block.  This  was  partly  relieved  by 
the  water  spurting  through  the  cracks  in  the  pavement,  and 
resisted  by  the  friction  of  adjacent  blocks,  but  where  these  were 
insufficient,  the  block  was  lifted  from  place,  and  allowed  the  waves 
to  wash  out  the  underlying  gravel  and  to  undermine  the  adjacent 
blocks. 

The  trough  of  the  largest  waves  came  about  the  bottom  of  the 
seventeenth  course,  so  that  the  maximum  back  pressure  was  con- 
centrated upon  this  course.  No  breach  was  anywhere  found  that 
did  not  evidently  originate  in  the  removal  of  a  block  from  the 
seventeenth  course.  Where  irregularities  of  slope  made  this 
course  about  1  foot  lower  than  in  other  places,  no  breach  was 
made,  the  pressure  being  there  divided  between  two  courses. 
It  is  evident  that  if  adjacent  courses  had  been  firmly  fastened 
together,  or  if  the  blocks  had  been  twice  as  wide  up  and  down 
the  slope,  no  damage  would  have  occurred,  and  this  suggests 
the  obvious  remedy,  that  of  fastening  each  course  to  the  one 


REPAIRS    TO    PAVEMENT  285 

above  and  below.  As  only  a  small  portion  of  the  course  actually 
attacked  was  injured,  it  is  evident  that  blocks  that  were  not 
moved  were  held  in  place  by  their  own  weight,  assisted  by  the 
friction  of  adjacent  blocks.  It  thus  appears  that  in  the  pave- 
ment in  general  most  of  the  blocks  have  sufficient  frictional  re- 
sistance to  hold  them,  and  if  this  friction  can  be  materially  in- 
creased all  over  the  dam,  the  blocks  would  be  secure.  On  this 
theory,  the  following  repairs  were  carried  out. 

The  ruptured  portions  of  the  pavement  were  replaced  in 
monolithic  concrete  on  a  base  of  unscreened  gravel.  The  arrange- 
ment of  the  blocks  in  horizontal  courses,  with  vertical  joints 
broken,  places  each  corner  of  a  block  at  a  three-way  joint.  At 
each  such  joint,  a  1^-inch  hole  has  been  drilled,  and  this  hole 
filled  with  grout.  All  joints  sufficiently  open  to  be  grouted  have 
also  been  filled.  This  work  was  done  mainly  in  the  spring  of 
1913,  when  the  blocks  were  approximately  at  their  minimum 
volume,  due  to  temperature.  In  all,  18,000  holes  were  thus 
drilled  and  grouted,  at  a  cost  of  about  5  cents  each. 

On  May  10,  1916,  under  the  influence  of  a  still  heavier  and 
more  protracted  storm,  reaching  at  times  about  100  miles  per 
hour,  another  and  similar  breach  was  made  in  the  pavement 
higher  up  the  slope,  affecting  the  twenty-second  course  instead 
of  the  seventeenth. 

The  damage  itself  was  not  great,  but  it  demonstrated  that 
the  precautions  above  described  were  inadequate.  Probably  the 
only  entirely  effective  measures  will  be  to  make  complete  cement- 
mortar  joints  at  all  block  junctions.  This  will  require  the  re- 
moval and  replacement  of  all  blocks  within  the  danger  zone. 
In  replacing  the  blocks,  the  length  of  block  will  extend  up  and 
down  the  slope,  instead  of  horizontally.  This  has  been  done. 

After  the  reservoir  was  placed  in  service  some  seepage  appeared 
near  the  down-stream  toe  in  the  natural  ground.  To  guard  against 
softening  the  foundation  and  thus  permitting  sliding,  a  drainage 
system  was  installed  to  carry  away  the  water.  This  consists 
of  a  trench  2,550  feet  long,  3  feet  wide,  and  12  feet  deep,  in  which 
is  placed  a  line  of  12-inch  vitrified  pipe  with  open  joints.  It  is 
surrounded  with  screened  gravel,  and  the  trench  is  filled  with 
gravel.  At  intervals  of  50  feet  in  the  bottom  of  this  trench,  wells 
were  provided,  extending  to  a  depth  of  about  20  feet  below  the 
bottom  of  the  trench  and  filled  with  gravel.  These  provisions 


BELLE    FOURCHE    PROJECT 


have  proved  effective  in  drying  up  the  ground  near  the  dam. 
The  drain  discharges  into  Owl  Creek  a  steady  flow  of  about  /w 
of  a  cubic  foot  per  second.  It  appears  that  this  water  comes 
from  a  sand  stratum  under  the  dam  which  was  uncovered  in  one 
of  the  borrow  pits  during  the  construction  of  the  dam. 


NORTH   CANAL 

The  canal  for  irrigating  the  lands  on  the  north  side  of  Belle 
Fourche  River,  below  the  reservoir,  is  about  45  miles  long  and 
heads  at  the  north  outlet  conduit.  Its  capacity  is  1,300  cubic 
feet  per  second  to  the  wasteway  channel  which  it  crosses  %  mile 
from  the  dam,  and  here  are  located  spillway  gates.  Beyond  this 
point  the  capacity  is  650  cubic  feet  per  second,  the  bottom  width 
is  28  feet,  and  the  water  depth  7  feet.  The  heaviest  work  on 
this  canal  consists  of  a  cut  about  a  mile  from  the  dam,  which  has 
a  maximum  depth  of  50  feet  for  a  considerable  distance.  Most 
of  this  cut  was  excavated  during  freezing  weather  when  work 
on  the  dam  was  forbidden,  and  the  steam  shovel  employed  on 
the  dam  was  used.  The  balance  of  the  excavation  on  the  North 
Canal  was  mostly  done  with  teams  and  fresnos. 

About  8  miles  from  the  head  of  the  North  Canal,  just  before 
crossing  Indian  Creek,  it  is  provided  with  a  sluiceway,  and  a 
drop  of  36  feet  into  Indian  Creek,  by  which  the  water  can  be 
quickly  turned  out  of  the  canal  in  case  of  a  break.  The  water 
is  discharged  by  the  sluice  into  Indian  Creek  about  200  feet 
above  the  flume  crossing.  The  flume  across  Indian  Creek  is  43 
feet  above  the  creek-bed,  and  1,300  feet  long.  It  is  built  of 
galvanized  steel  and  supported  on  wooden  bents,  anchored  to 
concrete  bases.  The  flume  is  semicircular  with  inside  diameter 
of  10  feet  and  10  inches. 

Its  theoretical  maximum  water  depth  is  10  feet,  7  inches,  and 
its  rated  capacity  about  500  cubic  feet  per  second,  the  mean 
velocity  being  about  11.5  feet  per  second.  It  begins  with  an 
intake  conduit  of  reinforced  concrete  93  feet  in  length,  and 
terminates  in  a  similar  channel  50  feet  long. 

The  total  fall  of  the  water  surface  from  the  earth  section 
above  the  flume  to  earth  section  below  is  8.64  feet.  A  coeffi- 
cient of  roughness  for  use  in  the  Kutter  formula  was  taken  as 
.012  for  the  flume  and  smooth  concrete  section.  A  few  baffles  are 


CANAL   SYSTEMS  287 

provided  at  the  lower  end  of  the  exit  section,  consisting  of  rocks 
set  in  the  concrete,  and  projecting  4  to  6  inches,  in  order  to  reduce 
the  velocity  before  it  enters  the  earth  section. 

On  account  of  the  long  wagon  haul  for  concrete  materials, 
the  culverts  used  to  convey  small  drainage  channels  under  the 
canal  are  built  of  galvanized,  corrugated  steel  pipe,  with  concrete 
terminals  and  cut-off  collars. 

In  order  to  avoid  building  a  lateral  parallel  to  the  main  canal, 
the  farm  units  along  the  canal  were  mostly  provided  with  a  sep- 
arate turnout  from  that  canal  consisting  of  a  12-inch  vitrified 
clay  pipe  with  concrete  inlet  and  outlet,  controlled  by  a  steel 
gate  working  in  a  steel  frame,  and  moved  by  means  of  a  screw 
stem  inclined  20  degrees  from  the  vertical.  Most  of  these  outlets 
were  12  inches  in  diameter. 


SOUTH    CANAL 

The  South  Canal  heads  at  the  south  outlet  of  the  Belle  Fourche 
Reservoir,  and  runs  in  a  southerly  and  easterly  direction,  a  total 
length  of  about  45  miles.  It  furnishes  water  to  4,000  acres  west 
of  Owl  Creek  and  to  28,000  acres  south  of  the  Belle  Fourche 
River. 

At  its  head  the  bottom  width  is  18  feet,  the  water  depth  is 
5  feet,  and  the  capacity  is  350  cubic  feet  per  second.  This  is 
reduced  as  laterals  are  taken  out.  The  grade  is  1.53  feet  per  mile. 

The  South  Canal  crosses  the  Belle  Fourche  River  by  means 
of  a  pressure  pipe  or  inverted  siphon  3,565  feet  in  length,  working 
under  a  maximum  head  of  65  feet,  and  an  average  head  of  50 
feet.  It  is  built  of  reinforced  concrete,  and  has  an  internal 
diameter  of  5  feet.  The  shell  is  8  inches  thick,  and  is  reinforced 
with  305,000  pounds  of  3/£-inch  and  ^s-inch  steel  bars. 

During  construction  in  1908  the  water  of  the  Belle  Fourche 
River  was  diverted  at  the  diversion  dam  and  carried  through 
the  feed  canal  to  Owl  Creek,  which  discharged  it  into  the  river 
far  below  the  crossing  of  the  South  Canal.  For  constructing  the 
pressure  pipe,  the  remaining  water  was  diverted  by  means  of  a 
cofferdam.  The  pipe  is  founded  in  shale  for  most  of  its  distance. 
It  was  built  as  a  continuous  structure,  using  collapsible  steel  in- 
terior forms.  Five  expansion  joints  are  provided. 

The  inlet  and  outlet  structures  are  both  of  reinforced  con- 


AGRICULTURAL    RESULTS  289 

crete,  the  former  being  protected  by  a  steel  grizzly  to  prevent  the 
entrance  of  drift. 

At  the  lowest  point  of  the  crossing  is  placed  a  round,  24-inch 
gate  valve  for  use  as  a  blow  off  when  it  is  desired  to  empty  the 
pipe.  This  pressure  pipe  has  shown  very  little  leakage  and  has 
given  entire  satisfaction  in  service. 

About  2  miles  east  of  the  river  crossing,  the  south  bank  of 
the  river  crowds  the  foot  of  a  high  bluff,  through  which  the  canal 
is  carried  in  a  tunnel  1,306  feet  in  length.  It  is  horseshoe  in 
shape,  and  has  a  maximum  width  of  9>^  feet,  and  a  center  width 
of  IQi^  feet.  It  is  constructed  through  soft,  laminated  shale, 
and  required  timbering  throughout.  It  was  excavated  from  both 
ends  by  one  crew;  while  drilling  was  in  progress  at  one  end  the 
muckers  were  employed  at  the  other.  Hand  drills  were  used, 
and  as  blasting  was  done  at  the  end  of  the  shift,  no  ventilating 
plant  was  required.  The  tunnel  was  lined  with  concrete,  the 
average  thickness  of  lining  being  about  8  inches. 

The  South  Canal  is  carried  across  Anderson  draw  by  means 
of  a  reinforced  concrete  pressure  pipe  425  feet  long,  under  a  head 
of  about  45  feet,  and  under  Whitewood  Creek  by  means  of  an- 
other pipe  350  feet  long,  under  a  head  of  15  feet. 

The  lateral  system  of  the  Belle  Fourche  Project  includes 
nearly  400  miles  of  lateral  canals,  and  over  1,000  small  structures. 
It  was  designed  to  deliver  water  to  each  unit  of  80  acres  or  greater, 
and  to  carry  a  cubic  foot  per  second  to  each  30  acres,  with  a  mini- 
mum canal  capacity  of  4  cubic  feet  per  second,  so  that  by  rota- 
tion every  irrigator  can  use  that  head  of  water  if  he  chooses. 
The  velocities  are  kept  within  3  feet  per  second,  and  surplus 
grade  used  up  in  vertical  drops.  Some  of  the  small  structures 
were  built  of  timber.  The  lateral  system  cost  about  $5  per  acre 
on  an  average  for  the  land  served. 

AGRICULTURAL   RESULTS 

The  lands  of  the  Belle  Fourche  Project  were  about  one-half 
public  lands  and  about  one-half  were  in  private  ownership  when 
the  project  was  started.  The  public  lands  were  mostly  entered 
by  settlers  some  time  before  the  water  was  available,  and  when 
the  project  was  opened  the  farm  unit  on  public  lands  was  fixed 
at  80  acres.  Where  settlers  were  provided  with  sufficient  capital 


290  BELLE    FOURCHE    PROJECT 

to  properly  prepare  and  cultivate  the  soil,  good  results  have 
been  achieved.  In  a  few  places  seepage  has  appeared,  and  some 
drainage  works  will  be  required  to  protect  such  places  against 
alkali. 

The  Belle  Fourche  Project  was  largely  planned  and  built  by 
R.  F.  Walter.  The  Owl  Creek  Dam  was'in  the  immediate  charge 
of  W.  W.  Patch. 


CHAPTER  XIX 
STRAWBERRY  VALLEY  PROJECT 

DESCRIPTION 

One  of  the  oldest  irrigated  regions  of  modern  America  is  the 
valley  lying  east  of  Salt  Lake  and  Utah  Lake. 

The  Ogden,  Weber,  Provo  and  Spanish  Fork  Rivers,  and  some 
intermediate  creeks,  gather  snow  waters  from  the  high  peaks  of 
the  Wasatch  Range  and  flow  westward  across  a  fertile  plain  to 
the  lakes  mentioned.  The  moderate  size  of  these  streams,  the 
steep  grade  on  which  they  emerge  from  the  mountains,  and  the 
smooth,  fertile  plains  along  their  banks  presented  nearly  ideal 
conditions  for  easy  diversion,  and  their  habit  of  flow,  in  which 
the  gentle  rise  in  spring  and  culmination  near  midsummer  roughly 
approximated  the  demands  of  irrigation,  insured  large  results 
from  their  skilful  use. 

Thus,  highly  favored  by  natural  conditions,  the  industry  and 
devotion  of  the  Mormon  settlers  achieved  early  and  remarkable 
results,  and  long  ago  the  available  summer  flow  of  these  streams 
was  fully  appropriated  in  normal  j^ears,  and  in  low  water  years 
serious  shortage  was  suffered  by  many  of  the  later  appropriators. 
This  condition  was  especially  emphasized  in  the  southern  end 
of  the  Valley,  where  the  area  of  valley  land  was  far  greater  than 
the  dependable  water  supply. 

To  relieve  this  situation  and  also  to  furnish  water  to  addi- 
tional areas  in  the  vicinity,  the  Reclamation  Service  undertook  to 
store  the  waters  of  Strawberry  Creek,  a  tributary  of  the  Green 
River  System,  and  to  bring  these  waters  through  the  Wasatch 
Range  into  the  basin  of  Spanish  Fork  River. 

POWER  DEVELOPMENT 

The  first  construction  undertaken  on  the  Strawberry  Project 
was  the  diversion  of  Spanish  Fork  River  and  the  construction  of 
a  power  canal  with  a  capacity  of  500  cubic  feet  per  second.  This 

291 


FIG.  96.— Spillway  of  Power  Canal  in  Winter,  Strawberry  Valley  Project,  Utah. 


DIVERSION    DAM  293 

canal  is  to  serve  also  the  main  irrigation  canal  but  was  con- 
structed early  in  order  to  develop  power  for  the  construction  of 
the  tunnel  and  the  other  power  needs  of  the  project.  At  3^ 
miles  below  the  heading,  the  water  is  dropped  125  feet  through  a 
5}/2-foot  steel  penstock  and  generates  power  for  transmission  to 
Strawberry  Dam  and  Tunnel.  The  plant  also  supplies  current 
for  lighting  several  towns  in  the  vicinity. 

The  plant  consists  of  two  horizontal  turbines  of  800  horse- 
power each,  direct  connected  to  two  500  K.  V.  A.,  3-phase,  60- 
cycle  alternators,  generating  current  at  11,000  volts,  and  two 
horizontal  turbines  of  100  horse-power  each,  direct  connected  to 
exciter  units  generating  45  kilowatts  each  at  125  volts.  The 
current  is  transformed  to  22,000  volts  for  transmission  to  Straw- 
berry Valley,  but  is  transmitted  to  the  neighboring  towns  at 
11,000  volts,  and  substations  at  those  towns  step  this  down  to 
2,300  volts  for  local  distribution. 

SPANISH    FORK   DIVERSION   DAM 

The  diversion  dam  on  Spanish  Fork  River  is  a  concrete  over- 
flow weir,  16  feet  high  and  70  feet  long.  It  is  provided  with 
concrete  sedimentation  basins  through  which  the  water  is  drawn 
and  allowed  to  settle,  there  being  two  of  these  so  that  one  can 
be  flushed  out  while  the  other  is  in  use.  A  similar  pair  of  sedi- 
ment basins  is  provided  at  the  penstock  of  the  power-house. 

The  canal  above  the  power-house  traverses  a  steep  mountain- 
side and  passes  through  several  tunnels.  In  some  places  the 
slope  is  so  steep  that  the  excavation  of  the  canal  renders  the 
ground  above  insecure  and  it  becomes  necessary  to  provide  a 
covering  for  the  canal  to  prevent  its  being  filled  by  slides. 

STRAWBERRY   RESERVOIR 

Strawberry  Creek  drains  a  portion  of  the  eastern  slope  of 
the  Wasatch  Range  and  flows  into  the  Duchesne  River,  a  tribu- 
tary of  the  Green,  which  lower  down  joins  the  Grand  to  form 
the  Colorado.  In  its  lower  portion  Strawberry  Creek  flows 
through  a  wide,  beautiful  mountain  valley,  and  then  enters  a 
narrow  gorge,  forming  a  combination  of  circumstances  favorable 
for  the  storage  of  water  in  a  reservoir  by  closing  the  gorge  with 
a  dam. 


STRAWBERRY    RESERVOIR  V      295 

The  reservoir  as  built  has  a  surface  area  of  8,200  acres,  and  a 
capacity  above  the  sill  of  the  tunnel  outlet  of  250,000  acre-feet. 
The  main  supply  of  water  is  from  Strawberry  Creek  but  this  is 
reinforced  by  Indian  and  Trail  Hollow  Creeks,  which  are  diverted 
into  the  reservoir  by  means  of  canals.  The  total  area  tributary 
to  the  reservoir  as  thus  increased  is  175  square  miles,  all  of  which 
is  above  7,500  feet  in  elevation,  and  receives  a  heavy  snowfall 
every  year. 

The  water  is  drawn  from  the  reservoir  through  a  tunnel 
19,845  feet  long  driven  through  the  mountain  range  to  the  west- 
ward. 

An  incomplete  record  of  nine  years  on  this  water  supply  indi- 
cates a  maximum  of  150,000  acre-feet,  a  minimum  of  49,000,  and 
a  mean  of  75,000  acre-feet.  It  is  probable  that  a  longer  record 
will  show  much  wider  extremes.  A  series  of  plentiful  years  will 
fill  the  reservoir  and  provide  a  supply  for  a  series  of  dry  years. 

Strawberry  Valley  Dam. — The  gorge  at  the  lower  end  of  Straw- 
berry Valley,  called  "The  Narrows,"  is  closed  by  an  earthen  dam 
60  feet  high.  The  top  width  is  21  feet,  the  water  slope  3  to  1,  and 
the  down-stream  slope  2  to  1.  It  was  provided  with  a  core- wall 
of  reinforced  concrete  16  feet  up-stream  from  the  axis  of  the  dam, 
embedded  in  bed-rock  at  the  base,  and  extending  to  an  elevation 
9  feet  below  the  top  of  the  dam  and  1  foot  above  spillway  lip. 
The  bed-rock  trench  was  carried  down  to  a  maximum  depth  of 
20  feet,  and  varied  from  5  to  10  feet  in  width.  This  was  filled 
with  concrete,  and,  anchored  into  this  mass,  a  reinforced  concrete 
wall,  40  inches  thick,  was  built  up  10  feet,  above  which  it  gradu- 
ally narrowed  to  a  thickness  of  18  inches  for  28  feet,  and  then 
narrowed  to  12  inches  to  the  top.  The  principal  function  of  the 
core  wall  was  to  guard  against  the  attacks  of  burrowing  animals. 
It  is  not  expected  that  a  watchman  will  be  kept  at  this  dam,  as 
it  is  remote  from  the  outlet  works. 

The  up-stream  slope  is  protected  by  a  2-foot  layer  of  crushed 
rock  and  a  pavement  of  hand-laid  stones  averaging  about  12 
inches  in  thickness.  Along  the  water  slope  of  the  dam  at  the 
spillway  level,  a  heavy  stone  terrace  3.3  feet  in  height  is  built 
on  the  pavement,  forming  the  lower  edge  of  a  berm  of  11.4  feet, 
to  break  the  wave  action  in  case  of  storms,  and  the  upper  3  feet 
of  the  face  is  given  a  slope  of  1  to  1. 

The  down-stream  slope  is  protected  by  a  layer  of  rough  rip- 


296 


STRAWBERRY   VALLEY   PROJECT 


rap  extending  from  a  level  10  feet  below  the  spillway  to  the 
base  It  is  about  3  feet  thick  at  the  base,  diminishing  to  about 
1  foot  at  the  top.  The  down-stream  portion  of  the  dam  is  pro- 
vided with  an  elaborate  system  of  tile  drainage  to  keep  down 
any  percolating  waters  and  prevent  the  saturation  of  this  portion 

A  spillway  was  excavated  through  the  left  abutment  of  the 
dam,  the  bottom  of  which  was  finished  10  feet  below  the  top 
of  the  dam,  having  an  intake  lip  80  feet  long,  leading  into  a  con- 
creted channel,  which  discharges  into  the  creek-bed  below  the 
dam.  The  spillway  lip  is  surmounted  by  a  concrete  bridge  of 
four  spans. 

A  sluicing  tunnel  was  driven  through  the  left  abutment, 
through  which  the  creek  was  diverted  during  construction,  and 
by  which  the  reservoir  can  be  emptied  if  necessary  for  repairs 
in  the  future.  This  tunnel  above  the  gates  is  8  feet  square  with 
an  arched  top  with  a  rise  of  about  3  feet.  Below  the  gates  it 
is  about  10  per  cent  larger  than  this.  It  is  controlled  by  two 
ordinary  sluice-gates,  each  4  feet  by  6  feet. 

Power  for  the  construction  of  the  dam  was  transmitted  from 
the  power-plant  on  Spanish  Fork  River  described  elsewhere. 
It  was  in  the  form  of  a  3-phase,  60-cycle  current  at  a  voltage  of 
22,000,  which  was  stepped  down  to  440  volts  for  use  with  induc- 
tion motors. 

A  225-horse-power  direct  current  generator  was  provided  and 
direct  current  was  used  on  all  hoists.  A  two-drill  air-compressor 
was  used  to  provide  power  for  driving  the  sluicing  tunnel. 

A  cableway  was  provided  spanning  the  dam  site,  directly 
over  the  core  wall,  with  826  feet  between  towers.  The  crusher 
and  storage  bins  were  located  directly  under  the  cable. 

After  the  construction  of  the  road  to  the  dam  site,  work  was 
started  on  the  diversion  tunnel,  and  soon  after  the  stripping  of 
the  abutments  of  the  dam  site  began.  As  soon  as  the  tunnel  was 
completed,  the  river  was  turned  through  it,  and  the  stripping 
of  the  river-bed  began.  It  soon  developed  that  the  sand  and 
mud  in  the  river-bed  were  underlaid  by  a  stratum  of  gravel  and 
a  cut-off  trench  was  located  150  feet  up-stream  from  the  core- 
wall,  and  this  extended  across  the  river  and  for  some  distance 
up  the  hillsides,  to  prevent  percolation  under  the  embankment. 
This  trench  varies  from  6  to  10  feet  in  width  and  was  carried 


STRAWBERRY    DAM  297 

down  into  the  bed-rock,  which  was  hard  limestone  somewhat 
seamy. 

The  bottom  of  this  cut-off  trench  was  covered  with  6  to  12 
inches  of  concrete  and  a  cut-off  wall  carried  up  from  this  with 
a  thickness  of  2  feet  and  brought  up  2  feet  higher,  and  puddled 


FIG.  98. — Strawberry  Dam  and  Spillway,  looking  south. 

clay  tamped  on  both  sides.  A  small  spring  of  water  coming 
from  the  rock  in  the  trench  on  the  north  bank  gave  some  trouble, 
and  was  gathered  in  a  2-inch  pipe  and  carried  through  the  bank 
and  core  wall. 

The  excavation  for  the  core  wall  averaged  about  8  feet  in 
width  and  was  carried  about  20  feet  into  bed-rock,  on  account 
of  the  seamy  water-bearing  condition  encountered.  Plum  rock 
was  freely  used  in  the  base  and  the  thicker  parts  of  the  core  wall. 
The  concrete  was  dumped  in  the  core  wall  direct  from  the  cableway. 

The  earth  for  the  embankment  was  obtained  from  borrow 
pits  south  of  the  dam  site.  It  was  loaded  by  elevating  graders 
into  dump  wagons,  hauled  and  dumped  on  the  dam.  Two  graders 


298  STRAWBERRY    VALLEY    PROJECT 

and  fifty  dump  wagons  were  employed.  The  earth  was  spread 
with  a  road  grader  to  a  thickness  of  about  4  inches,  sprinkled 

with  hose  and  rolled  with  a  10-ton  traction  engine.  It  was  the 
aim  to  provide  about  14  per  cent  moisture  in  the  earth  before 
rolling. 

STRAWBERRY  DAM  COST  SUMMARY 

Clearing  and  cleaning  dam  site $     2,665 

Temporary  diverting  dam 703 

Sluicing  tunnel  and  gate  shaft 40,281 

Core-wall  trench  excavation 7,708 

Reinforced  concrete  core-wall,  2,128  cu.  yds  at  $18.63.  39,646 

Earth  embankment,  108,415  cu.  yds.  at  63  cents 68,286 

Tile  drains  in  foundation 2,328 

Concrete  cut-off  wall 3,955 

Excavating  toe  trench 234 

Rock-fill  in  toe  trench 1,116 

Paving  up-stream  slope,  6,985  sq.  yds.  at  $3.69 25,786 

Soil  dressing  down-stream  slope 784 

Paving  down-stream  slope 1,400 

Roadway  across  dam 1,249 

Wasteway 50,755 

Sluicing-gates  and  hoists 7,503 

Berm 1,942 

Concrete  bridge  across  wasteway 8,971 

Hydraulicing  clay  blanket 1,721 


Total $267,033 

Indian  Creek  Dike. — A  low  saddle  separates  the  Valley  of 
Strawberry  Creek  from  that  of  Indian  Creek,  and  to  prevent 
the  Strawberry  Reservoir  from  overflowing  into  Indian  Creek 
it  was  necessary  to  provide  an  earthen  dike  with  a  maximum 
height  of  38  feet  and  a  length  of  1,311  feet.  It  has  a  top  width 
of  20  feet,  a  maximum  bottom  width  of  206  feet,  a  down-stream 
slope  of  2  to  1,  and  a  water  slope  of  3  to  1,  below  spillway  level, 
and  1  to  1  above  that  level.  It  is  provided  with  a  reinforced 
concrete  core-wall  18  feet  up-stream  from  the  axis  of  the  dam, 
carried  3  feet  into  the  ground  and  connected  with  a  row  of  Wake- 
field  sheet  piling  12  feet  deeper. 

A  drain  of  8-inch  tiling  follows  the  ground  on  the  lower  side 
of  the  core-wall  and  discharges  through  three  branch  drains 
leading  to  the  down-stream  toe,  in  order  to  prevent  the  satura- 


INDIAN    CREEK   DIKE  209 

tion  of  the  lower  half  of  the  dam  from  leakage  under  or  through 
the  core-wall. 

The  water  slope  of  the  dike  is  protected  from  wave  action 
by  a  layer  of  2  feet  of  broken  stone  and  1  foot  of  large  hand- 
laid  rock.  A  berm  is  provided  about  the  spillway  level,  with  a 
vertical  offset  at  its  lower  edge  to  break  the  waves.  Above  this 
berm  the  slope  is  1  to  1. 

A  trench  was  provided  along  the  up-stream  toe  of  the  dam, 

5  feet  wide  and  2J^  to  3  feet  deep,  and  filled  with  broken  rock. 
Excavation  for  the  foundation    of   the   core-wall    uncovered    a 
stratum  of  quicksand,  and  to  cut  off  percolation  through  this 
the  sheet  piling  was  provided,  which  also  served  as  a  support  for 
the  core-wall. 

A  cut-off  trench  was  staked  out  and  excavated  on  the  reservoir 
side  of  the  core-wall  and  distant  therefrom  45  feet.  It  had  a 
depth  of  3.5  feet,  a  bottom  width  of  6  feet  and  side  slopes  of 
1  to  1.  The  entire  base  of  the  dike  was  scored  with  furrows 

6  inches  deep,  parallel  to  the  axis  of  the  dike.     The  earth  for 
the  embankment  was  loaded  by  elevating  graders  into  dump 
wagons  holding  about  \Yi  cubic  yards  each.     After  dumping,  the 
earth  was  spread  in  6-inch  layers  and  sprinkled  with  a  sprinkling 
cart  at  first,  but  later  a  2-inch  pipe  was  laid  along  the  core-wall 
with  taps  every  100  feet,  and  the  sprinkling  was  done  with  a 
flexible   hose,  this   method   giving   more  uniform  results.     After 
sprinkling  the  layer  was  rolled  by  means  of  a  corrugated  iron  pipe 
filled  with  concrete  weighing  2,000  pounds  for  each  foot  of  tread. 

Indian  Creek  and  Trail  Hollow  Feed  Canals. — Indian  Creek 
and  Trail  Hollow  are  two  creeks  to  the  southward  of  the  Straw- 
berry Creek,  which  are  diverted  into  Strawberry  Reservoir  in 
order  to  increase  the  storable  water  supply.  The  waters  of  Trail 
Hollow  are  carried  to  Indian  Creek  in  a  canal  about  4  miles  long, 
and  below  its  discharge  the  water  is  diverted  from  Indian  Creek 
and  carried  about  2  miles  to  Strawberry  Reservoir.  Trail  Hollow 
is  a  small  creek  and  the  canal  diverting  its  water  has  a  bottom 
width  of  12  feet,  a  water  depth  of  3  feet,  and  a  capacity  of  about 
120  cubic  feet  per  second.  The  Trail  Hollow  Diversion  is  a  simple 
concrete  structure  with  a  sluicing  culvert  controlled  by  a  cast- 
iron  gate  2  feet  by  3  feet.  The  intake  to  the  canal  is  controlled 
by  flash-boards  of  5  feet  4  inches  span,  there  being  two  such 
openings. 


300 


STRAWBERRY    VALLEY    PROJECT 


The  canal  carrying  the  combined  waters  of  both  creeks  from 
Indian  Creek  to  the  reservoir  has  a  bottom  width  of  22  feet,  a 
water  depth  of  7  feet  and  a  capacity  of  over  500  cubic  feet  per 
second. 

The  diversion  of  Indian  Creek  is  accomplished  by  means  of 
a  long  earthen  dike  built  across  the  flood  plain  and  a  concrete 
wen*  in  the  channel  of  the  stream.  Two  small  sluice-gates  are 
placed  against  the  left  bank,  adjoining  the  intake  of  the  canal, 
which  is  controlled  by  six  gates.  Both  the  weir  and  the  head- 
gate  structure  are  surmounted  by  concrete  bridges  and  a  curtain 
wall  closes  the  space  between  the  head-gates  and  the  bridge  so 
as  to  confine  the  intake  opening  strictly  to  the  size  of  the  gates 
and  prevent  excessive  fluctuation  of  the  quantity  of  water  enter- 
ing the  canal,  as  the  head  varies. 

The  Indian  Creek  Canal  terminates  at  the  reservoir  in  a  long 
concrete  chute.  At  the  crossing  of  Horse  Creek,  a  bank  is  thrown 
across  the  creek  and  its  water  taken  into  the  canal. 


COST  OF  INDIAN  CREEK  DIKE 

Earthen  embankment  in  place,  101,167  cu.  yds.  at  40.5  cents. 

Core-wall  trench  excavation,  411  cu.  yds.  at  $1.41 

Concrete  core-wall,  1,516  cu.  yds.  at  $16 

Rockfill  in  berm,  878  cu.  yds.  at  $4.28 

Rockfill  in  toe  trench,  1,259  cu.  yds.  at  $2.87 

Paving  up-stream  slope,  11,041  sq.  yds.  at  $3.34 

Drains,  1,445  feet  at  $1.09 

Placing  steel,  77,677  Ibs.  at  $0.019 

Soil  dressing,  down-stream  slope,  1.681  acres  at  $576.66 

Roadway,  crushed  stone,  850  cu.  yds.  at  $3.09 

Roadway,  earth  covering,  250  cu.  yds.  at  79  cents 

Lumber  in  place,  6.772  M,  at  $59.03 

Excavation  drainage  channel,  2,000  cu.  yds.  at  25  cents 

Reinforced  concrete  in  culvert,  7  cu.  yds.  at  $22.86 

Sheet  piling 


Total... 


580 

24,263 

3,759 

3,619 

36,858 

1,569 

1,468 

969 

2,623 

197 

400 

500 

160 

1,296 

$119,250 


STRAWBERRY    TUNNEL 

This  tunnel  extends  from  the  margin  of  Strawberry  Reservoir  on 
the  east  slope  of  the  Wasatch  Range  to  the  headwaters  of  Dia- 
mond Creek,  a  tributary  of  Spanish  Fork  River  on  the  western 


•Iff  ill 


302  STRAWBERRY   VALLEY    PROJECT 

slope  of  the  same  range,  and  has  a  total  length  between  portals 
of  19,897  feet. 

The  slope  of  the  tunnpl'  is  .003,  and  its  theoretical  capacity, 
operating  as  an  open  channel,  is  500  cubic  feet  per  second.  It  is 
nearly  square  in  section,  with  an  arched  top,  the  width  being  7 


FIG.  100.— Intake  of  Strawberry  Tunnel,  at  East  portal,  north  End  of  Reser- 
voir, Strawberry  Valley  Project. 

feet  and  height  to  the  spring  of  the  arch  being  6^£  feet  in  the 
finished  tunnel.  The  arch  has  a  rise  of  2  feet.  The  rock  en- 
countered was  mostly  sandstone  and  limestone,  usually  hard  but 
containing  many  seams  and  many  springs  of  water,  with  occa- 
sional strata  of  shale  which  swelled  badly,  gave  much  trouble  and 
required  heavy  timbering.  Most  of  the  tunnel  required  timbering. 
When  the  project  was  undertaken,  the  first  work  started  was 
the  power  canal,  destined  to  develop  power  for  construction  pur- 
poses. To  avoid  delay  and  also  to  develop  methods,  work  on 
the  west  portal  of  the  tunnel  was  started  soon  after,  this  being 
the  feature  requiring  most  time.  Gas  engines  were  used  to 
develop  power,  70  horse-power  in  all  being  installed,  and  electric 


STRAWBERRY   TUNNEL  303 

drills  were  used  at  first.  These  were  later  abandoned  in  favor 
of  compressed  air.  The  tramming  was  done  by  horse-power. 
About  1,600  feet  of  tunnel  was  thus  driven,  which  developed  the 
character  of  material  to  be  encountered  and  methods  of  handling  it. 
The  increased  amount  of  power  required  caused  this  work  to  be 
shut  down  to  await  the  completion  of  the  power  canal  and  plant. 

As  soon  as  these  were  completed,  electric  current  was  delivered 
over  263/2  miles  of  transmission  line  at  a  voltage  of  22,000  and 
stepped  down  at  the  tunnel  substation  to  2,200  volts,  at  which 
tension  it  was  supplied  to  the  induction  motors. 

A  motor  of  125  horse-power  was  belted  to  a  427-cubic-foot 
air-compressor  to  supply  compressed  air  to  the  drills,  and  a 
motor-generator  set  supplied  direct  current  at  250  volts  for  light- 
ing, driving  small  motors  in  the  machine  shop,  and  for  operating 
the  tramway  in  the  tunnel.  As  soon  as  the  tunnel  was  driven 
to  a  distance  of  7,000  feet  from  the  west  portal,  a  chamber  was 
provided  there  in  which  was  installed  another  motor-generator 
set  of  175-horse-power  capacity  to  supply  direct-current  power 
for  the  tramway,  blowers  and  lights. 

Most  of  the  tunnel  was  driven  from  the  west  heading  for  the 
sake  of  economy.  That  heading  was  the  nearest  to  the  source 
of  power  and  all  other  supplies,  and  the  road  to  the  east  portal 
was  closed  either  by  snow  or  mud  the  greater  part  of  the  year. 
The  tunnel  was  a  wet  one,  and  its  grade  allowed  the  water  to 
drain  to  the  west,  while  all  water  would  have  to  be  pumped  from 
an  eastern  heading.  The  borings  near  the  east  portal  developed 
several  artesian  wells,  indicating  serious  trouble  with  water  there. 
When  a  small  amount  of  work  was  done  on  the  eastern  end,  it 
was  found  that  the  water  problem  was  not  as  serious  as  expected. 

After  electric  power  became  available  in  January,  1909,  work 
was  started  at  the  western  heading  with  one  shift,  which  was 
soon  increased  to  two  and  later  to  three.  Two  3^-inch  air-rock 
drills  were  used  mounted  on  columns.  Air  was  used  at  pressures 
from  85  to  90  pounds  per  square  inch.  It  was  transmitted 
through  a  4-inch  pipe,  and  an  auxiliary  receiver  was  installed  at 
the  5,000-foot  station  in  the  tunnel  to  steady  the  pressure  at 
the  drills.  This  receiver  was  later  moved  nearer  the  heading  as 
the  tunnel  advanced.  Each  shift  was  required  in  eight  hours  to 
clean  up  the  heading,  drill  and  shoot  one  complete  round  of  drill 
holes,  usually  consisting  of  18  holes,  from  4  to  7  feet  deep. 


304  STRAWBERRY   VALLEY   PROJECT 

The  ventilation  of  the  tunnel  was  accomplished  through  a 
14-inch  pipe  made  in  16-foot  lengths,  and  kept  about  60  to  80 
feet  from  the  heading  to  avoid  injury  in  blasting.  A  blower  was 
installed  4,000  feet  from  the  portal-  and  revolved  at  full  speed 
after  each  blast  in  such  a  way  as  to  suck  the  smoke  and  gases 
from  the  heading.  After  ten  to  twenty  minutes,  the  blower 
was  slowed  down  to  %  speed  for  the  rest  of  the  time.  A  second 


CROSS-SECTION  OF  TUNNEL 
IN  SOLID  GROUND 


CROSS-SECTION  OF  TUNNEL 
IN  UNSTABLE  GROUND 


STRAWBERRY  TUNNEL 

FIG.  101. — Cross-Sections  of  Strawberry  Tunnel,  Utah. 


blower  was  installed  when  needed,  about  11.000  feet  from  the 
portal. 

Horse  haulage  was  employed  to  Station  35.  Beyond  this 
point  the  excavated  material  was  hauled  out  of  the  tunnel  in 
steel  cars  of  47-cubic-feet  capacity  by  electric  locomotives  on  a 
track  of  25-pound  rails,  2  feet  apart.  Direct  current  at  250 
volts  was  supplied  to  the  locomotives  by  a  0000-copper  wire  car- 
ried on  special  pine  poles  fastened  to  the  cross-ties  of  the  track 
at  40-foot  intervals  to  avoid  moving  the  wire  when  concreting. 
When  the  loaded  cars  arrived  at  the  dump  below  the  west  portal, 
a  bail  was  attached  to  two  lugs  provided  for  the  purpose,  and 
the  car  lifted  from  the  track  by  a  7^-ton  derrick,  swung  out 
over  the  edge  and  dumped,  and  then  returned  to  the  track.  The 
derrick  was  moved  once  a  month  as  the  dump  advanced  and 
the  track  was  brought  up  within  reach. 


TUNNEL    CONTROL   WORKS 


305 


A  long  approach  cut  was  necessary  to  connect  the  Strawberry 
Reservoir  with  the  east  portal  of  the  tunnel.  On  account  of  the 
very  wet  material  a  drag-line  excavator  with  a  70-foot  boom 


SECTION  A-A 

FIG.  102. — Strawberry  Tunnel  Controlling  Works. 

was  selected  as  best  adapted  to  the  work.  A  derrick  with  a 
60-foot  boom  was  also  provided  which  served  material  needed 
in  the  cut. 


306  STRAWBERRY   VALLEY   PROJECT 

The  material  encountered  was  so  soft  and  unstable  that  it 
would  not  stand  on  any  reasonable  slopes,  and  it  was  necessary 
to  make  a  cut  and  cover  section  instead  of  an  open  cut.  The 
section  adopted  was  a  circle  with  an  inside  diameter  of  8  feet 
and  2  inches,  connecting  with  the  tunnel  section  by  warped 
surfaces.  The  open  cut  was  about  600  feet  and  the  cut  and 
cover  section  760  feet.  The  latter  was  built  on  a  1  per  cent 
grade  to  save  excavation  and  shorten  the  tube. 

The  total  length  of  tunnel  excavated  from  the  east  portal 
was  2,686  linear  feet,  about  two-thirds  of  which  was  timbered. 


FIG.  103. — Flow  of  Water  in  Strawberry  Tunnel. 

The  intake  to  the  conduit  was  merely  a  system  of  columns  and 
beams  supporting  a  steel  grating  to  prevent  debris  from  being 
carried  into  the  tunnel. 

The  control  works  are  installed  in  a  shaft  located  on  the 
hillside  above  the  water  line  of  the  full  reservoir,  and  consist 
essentially  of  two  sets  of  two  gates  each,  3  feet  wide  and  5  feet 
high,  operated  by  an  18-inch  reaction  turbine  water-wheel.  A 
reinforced  partition  or  elongated  pier  2  feet  thick  serves  to  divide 
the  tunnel  into  two  tubes  for  a  distance  of  18  feet. 


DISTRIBUTION    SYSTEM  307 

COMPLETE  COST  OF  STRAWBERRY  TUNNEL 

Control  works  and  intake $  99  531,53 

Driving  tunnel,  including  timbering 778*984  57 

Lining  tunnel []'"  297,606.18 

Clearing  sites  for  outlet  structures 2  630  64 

Portal  arch 3,806.52 

Outlet  weir  barrier g  4gl  44. 

Stilling  basin 1  405  74 

Two  permanent  cottages,  east  portal 6,542.83 

Other  improvements  at  east  portal  permanent  camp 1,857.95 


Total $1,198,947.38 

19,897  feet  at  $60.25  per  foot 

PROGRESS  IN  STRAWBERRY  TUNNEL 
West  Portal: 

1906  and  1907 ;....,., 1,613  feet 

1909 .:'v^^  . .-. .  3,892    " 

1910 :*'.* ...'..?,..-.  5,031    "     3* 

1911 $&'*. .....4?:.  3,491    "    / 

1912 .» .^4^"  ••'•:*••'•):•"•  2'382    " 

Total  from  west  portal.  . .  .^: . .  i  .^? .,.  -; .  16,409  feet  '  \ 

Excavated  at  east  portal *'"..'. 2,686    " 

Cut  and  cover 760    " 


v  .  J     Grand  total 19,855  feet 

Stilling  Basin. — At  the  western  portal  of  the  tunnel  a  stilling 
basin  was  provided  to  check  the  velocity  of  the  water  emerging 
from  the  tunnel  and  permit  its  measurement  over  a  weir.  The 
basin  was  130  feet  long,  and  had  a  bottom  width  of  40  feet  with 
side  slopes  1  to  1.  The  bottom  of  the  tunnel  at  the  portal  is  at 
elevation  7,451.95,  and  the  crest  of  the  measuring  weir  is  7,453. 
The  weir  is  14  feet  long  and  stands  7  feet  above  the  bottom  of 
the  pool  at  its  base.  The  bed-rock  below  the  weir  was  paved 
with  concrete  averaging  about  6  inches  thick. 

DISTRIBUTION 

The  distribution  of  the  waters  from  the  Strawberry  Reser- 
voir is  made  from  Spanish  Fork  River,  so  that  advantage  can 
be  taken  of  all  unappropriated  flood  waters  and  stored  water 
used  to  supplement  them.  The  largest  unit  of  the  project  com- 


308  STRAWBERRY    VALLEY    PROJECT 

prises  the  irrigable  land  commanded  by  the  "High  Line"  Canal, 
which  is  an  extension  of  the  power  canal  already  described.  The 
capacity  of  this  canal  from  its  head  to  the  power  house  is  500 
second-feet.  At  this  point  it  decreases  to  a  capacity  of  295 
second-feet,  having  on  the  steep  side  hill  a  bottom  width  of 
12  feet  and  a  water  depth  of  5.6  feet,  and  on  gently  sloping  ground 
a  bottom  width  of  20  feet  and  a  water  depth  of  4.1  feet,  the 
grade  in  both  cases  being  .0004.  The  capacity  decreases  as  lat- 


FIG.  104.— Strawberry  Tunnel,  showing  Steel  Forms  for  Concrete  Lining. 

erals  are  taken  out,  and  the  canal  arrives  at  Station  1,040  with 
a  capacity  of  215  second-feet.  Here  it  passes  into  a  rock  cut, 
lined  with  concrete  to  save  excavation.  Emerging  from  this  cut 
the  canal  branches,  and  the  main  branch  is  dropped  15  feet 
through  a  drop  chute  414  feet  long  and  crosses  the  saddle  of 
Goshen  Pass  through  a  pressure  pipe  under  the  Denver  &  Rio 
Grande  Railroad  to  water  lands  on  the  eastern  slope  of  West 
Mountain.  The  pressure  pipe  is  36  feet  in  length  and  36  inches 
in  diameter,  and  is  built  of  cast  iron,  with  an  estimated  capacity 
of  30  second -feet.  A  lateral  of  60 -second -feet  capacity 


310  STRAWBERRY   VALLEY   PROJECT 

branches  off  above  the  chute  and  continues  into  Goshen  Valley, 
where  it  sends  off  branches  to  cover  about  11,000  acres  of  land. 
From  this  division  point  at  Goshen  Pass  the  system  is  nearly 
all  concrete-lined  canals  or  pipes,  for  saving  water  and  excava- 
tion, and  providing  against  excessive  erosion  from  high  velocities 
introduced  by  the  slope  of  the  country  served. 

The  total  area  of  irrigable  land  under  the  "High  Line"  is 
24,000  acres. 

Other  areas  to  which  it  is  proposed  to  deliver  storage  water 
have  some  flood  water  supply  already  from  Spanish  Fork  and 
Hobble  Creek.  It  is  expected  that  such  supplementary  supply 
of  storage  water  will  be  furnished  to  about  25,000  acres  of  land. 

The  Strawberry  Project  was  built  by  J.  T.  Lytle  under  the 
direction  of  J.  H.  Quinton  as  Supervising  Engineer,  later  suc- 
ceeded by  Louis  C.  Hill. 


CHAPTER  XX 
OKANOGAN  PROJECT 

DESCRIPTION 

This  is  a  small  enterprise  in  northern  Washington  not  far 
from  the  Canadian  line. 

It  provides  for  the  storage  of  water  by  a  dam  on  Salmon 
River  below  Conconully,  Washington,  and  also  a  small  amount  of 
storage  in  Salmon  Lake,  from  which  stored  waters  are  released 
when  needed  into  Conconully  Reservoir. 

The  waters  are  diverted  by  a  dam  on  Salmon  River  12  miles 
below  the  reservoir,  and  conducted  in  canals  and  tunnels  to 
lands  in  the  valley  of  Okanogan  River  between  Riverside  and 
Okanogan,  Washington. 

The  project  is  designed  to  irrigate  10,000  acres,  but  the  water 
supply  from  the  gravity  system  above  described  is  not  always 
sufficient  for  this  purpose.  To  supply  additional  water  in  years 
of  low  run-off,  a  pumping  plant  has  been  provided  to  lift  water 
from  Okanogan  River  for  the  lower  portion  of  the  tract. 

CONCONULLY   RESERVOIR 

This  reservoir  covers  a  small  valley  at  the  junction  of  the 
north  and  west  forks  of  Salmon  River,  and  covers  an  area  of 
460  acres,  with  a  capacity  of  13,000  acre-feet.  The  valley  is 
narrowed  at  the  dam  site  by  a  spur  projecting  from  the  west, 
leaving  a  gap  of  about  900  feet  to  be  closed  by  the  dam. 

A  low  saddle  in  the  spur  is  utilized  as  the  location  of  a  spillway. 

Conconully  Dam. —  Borings  were  made  at  the  dam  site  to 
a  depth  of  about  60  feet,  which  indicated  good  material  for 
the  foundation  of  an  earthen  dam,  consisting  of  a  hard-packed 
mixture  of  sand,  silt  and  clay  under  a  surface  of  coarser  sand 
and  silt. 

To  prevent  percolation  through  this  surface  material,  a  cut-off 
wall  of  sheet  piling  was  driven  70  feet  up-stream  from  the  axis 

311 


CONCONULLY  DAM  313 

of  the  dam,  connecting  with  the  cut-off  trenches  on  the  hillsides 
at  the  ends  of  the  dam.  The  piling  was  built  up  of  2-inch  tama- 
rack plank,  making  each  pile  6  inches  thick.  It  extended  about 
33  feet  into  the  ground,  and  projected  3  feet  above,  into  the 
earth  fill. 

The  height  of  the  dam  above  the  bed  of  Salmon  River  is 
66  feet.  Its  top  length  is  1,010  feet,  and  bottom  815  feet.  The 
down-stream  slope  is  2  to  1.  The  water  slope  varies  from  3  to  1 
at  bottom,  to  2^  to  1  near  the  top.  The  spillway  provided  has 
an  overflow  lip  180  feet  long.  The  total  volume  of  material  in  the 
dam  is  351,000  cubic  yards. 

In  considering  methods  of  constructing  the  dam,  the  most 
prominent  fact  was  the  isolation  of  the  locality.  It  was  105 
miles  from  the  nearest  railroad  point,  Wenatchee,  from  which 
water  transportation  was  available  to  a  point  45  miles  from  the 
site,  over  poor  mountain  roads.  Machine  repairs  could  not  be 
obtained  nearer  than  Spokane,  and  very  little  local  labor  was 
available.  These  conditions  imposed  the  necessity  of  utilizing 
local  resources  to  their  maximum  extent. 

It  was  found  that  abundant  material  was  available  on  the 
west  mountainside,  just  below  the  dam  site,  consisting  of  talus 
material  grading  from  fine  silt  and  sand  through  all  sizes  of  angu- 
lar stones  to  a  cubic  yard.  This  was  examined  by  test  pits  and 
it  appeared  that  it  could  be  moved  by  the  hydraulic  process,  and 
water  under  ample  head  could  be  obtained  by  diverting  the  west 
fork  of  Salmon  River  about  3  miles  above,  and  bringing  it  in  a 
flume  to  a  point  above  the  borrow  pit.  The  excellent  results 
obtainable  with  the  sorting  power  of  water  upon  such  material 
as  this  was  also  a  strong  argument  and  the  hydraulic  method  of 
construction  was  adopted. 

The  west  fork  of  Salmon  Creek,  from  which  water  was  ob- 
tained, has  a  flow  exceeding  50  second-feet  from  April  1  to  July  1, 
and  gradually  declines  to  about  10  second-feet  in  August  and 
September. 

A  flume  of  17  second-feet  capacity  was  built  from  the  diver- 
sion point  3  miles  along  the  mountainside  to  the  borrow  pit, 
which,  after  one  season's  use  was  enlarged  to  26  second-feet,  and 
to  utilize  this  capacity  in  the  late  summer  and  fall,  two  small 
storage  reservoirs  were  built  on  the  two  creek  branches  diverted 
to  accumulate  water  during  the  night  for  use  in  daytime. 


314  OKANOGAN    PROJECT 

The  flume  delivered  the  water  about  250  feet  above  the  base 
of  the  dam. 

Part  of  the  water  from  2  to  6  second-feet  was  delivered  through 
pipes  to  hydraulic  giants,  one  in 'each  borrow  pit,  with  nozzles 
changed  from  2  to  3^>  inches  in  diameter  as  required.  A  flow 
of  from  2  to  3  second-feet  was  delivered  to  each  flume  under 
pressure  from  114  to  170  feet  through  a  4-inch  pipe  to  serve  as 
push  water.  A  portion  of  the  remainder  of  the  water  was  dis- 
charged free  from  the  flume  and  ran  down  the  mountainside,  car- 
tying  material  into  the  flumes,  and  the  remainder  was  brought 
down  in  pipes  and  used  as  push  water. 

A  large  flume  was  built  along  the  lower  edge  of  the  borrow 
pits  and  merged  into  a  flume  on  a  trestle  reaching  from  the 
mountainside  to  the  dam.  At  the  dam  the  main  flume  was  con- 
nected with  two  lateral  flumes  running  near  and  parallel  to  the 
down-stream  toe  of  the  dam,  and  also  to  two  lateral  flumes  near 
the  up-stream  toe. 

When  the  dam  was  built  up  to  these  lateral  flumes,  the  main 
trestle  was  raised  29  feet  and  lateral  flumes  were  built  nearer  the 
center  line  of  the  dam,  and  these  were  fed  from  new  flumes  higher 
on  the  mountainside.  When  the  dam  was  brought  up  to  this 
second  stage  of  fluming,  a  third  stage  was  built,  terminating  in 
two  laterals  near  the  center  line  of  the  dam. 

The  main  flumes  along  the  mountainside  were  built  the  first 
season  with  slightly  inclined  sides,  a  depth  of  2  feet  and  3  inches, 
and  a  bottom  of  Xo.  10  mill  steel  curved  to  a  radius  of  1  foot. 
The  erosion  of  the  angular  blocks  carried  by  the  water  at  high 
velocities  soon  wore  large  holes  in  the  bottom  of  this  curve,  and 
a  flat  bottom  16  niches  wide  was  then  given  the  flume,  which 
stood  the  wear  much  better.  The  flumes  were  given  grades  of 
4  per  cent  for  the  first  and  second  stages  of  trestle  work  and 
3  per  cent  for  the  third  stage  or  final  finish  of  the  dam.  The 
short  borrow-pit  flumes,  however,  were  given  3  per  cent  grades 
throughout  the  work. 

In  discharging  the  material  upon  the  dam  from  the  lateral 
flumes,  a  grating  with  2-inch  openings  was  placed  diagonally 
in  the  flume,  and  the  flume  just  above  this  grating  opened  on 
the  side  toward  the  outer  edge,  of  the  dam  and  the  coarse  ma- 
terial deflected  by  the  grating  through  this  opening  on  the  outer 
slope  of  the  dam.  Most  of  the  finer  material  and  water  passed 


316  OKANOGAN    PROJECT 

at  high  velocity  through  the  grating  and  was  then  discharged 
on  the  opposite  side  of  the  flume.  The  gravel  fell  in  cones  near 
the  flume,  the  sand  was  carried  farther  and  the  water  laden  with 
fine  sand  and  silt  ran  into  the  pond  maintained  in  the  center 
of  the  dam.  In  this  way  the  material  was  roughly  graded  from 
coarse  on  both  slopes  of  the  dam  to  fine  in  the  center. 

A  considerable  amount  of  the  material  found  in  the  borrow 
pits  was  large,  rough  boulders,  too  large  to  be  washed  through 
the  flumes  and  was  either  broken  small  enough  for  water  trans- 
portation or  ejected  from  the  pit.  To  get  rid  of  such  accumu- 
lated boulders,  it  was  necessary  to  operate  two  pits  alternately. 
The  largest  rocks  carried  by  water  were  about  1%  cubic  feet  in 
volume.  The  central  pond  was  maintained  at  a  depth  of  from 
12  to  18  inches,  and  the  surplus  water  drawn  off  on  the  reservoir 
side  through  flumes  near  the  ends  of  the  dam. 

The  waste  water  from  the  pond  carried  with  it  from  0.1  per 
cent  to  0.5  per  cent  of  silt,  aggregating  about  20,000  cubic  yards 
in  all,  or  about  5^  per  cent  of  the  material  sluiced. 

The  pond  at  first  was  quite  wide  but  as  the  dam  increased 
in  height  it  became  rapidly  narrower  and,  in  spite  of  all  efforts, 
the  slopes  of  coarse  material  would  extend  so  far  into  the  pond 
as  to  leave  insufficient  puddle  material  between  opposite  slopes. 
Such  places  were  broken  up  and  fine  material  introduced,  but 
gradually  the  narrowing  embankment  and  the  coarse  material 
available  ceased  to  furnish  sufficient  fine  silt  to  form  an  adequate 
core,  and  it  became  necessary  to  secure  loam  from  the  valley 
floor  for  this  purpose.  This  was  hauled  in  scrapers  to  a  plat- 
form above  the  east  of  the  dam,  and  washed  to  place  through 
an  8-inch  pipe.  Wooden  forms  were  used  to  prevent  the  strati- 
fication of  sand  across  this  puddle  core,  which  started  consider- 
ably up-stream  from  the  axis  of  the  dam  14  feet  above  the  valley 
floor,  and  sloped  toward  the  center  as  it  approached  the  top. 

The  coarse  rock  which  formed  the  outer  slopes  was  deposited 
so  irregularly  from  the  flumes  as  to  require  much  handwork  in 
finishing  the  slopes,  but  it  was  coarse  enough  to  make  excellent 
riprap,  and  no  further  protection  of  the  slopes  was  required. 

The  material  placed  in  the  dam  by  the  sluicing  process  meas- 
ured in  the  pit  about  330,000  cubic  yards,  and  in  the  dam  340,- 
000,  showing  an  increase  in  volume  due  to  segregation  of  sizes 
of  about  3  per  cent. 


318 


OKANOGAN    PROJECT 


The  coarseness  of  the  material  and  the  moderate  grades  avail- 
able for  the  sluicing  work  made  the  percentage  of  material  car- 
ried very  low,  and  it  decreased  as  the  work  progressed,  owing 
to  increased  coarseness  and  decreased  grades,  notwithstanding 
the  larger  flow  of  water. 

The  relative  effectiveness  for  the  successive  seasons  is  shown 
below: 


Average 

Period 

Hours 
Actually 
Sluiced 

Hours 
Lost 

Cubic 
Yards 
Sluiced 

Average 
Yardage 
Per  Hour 

Average 
Water 
Supply 

Per- 
centage 
Material 

Carried 

Apr.  22  to  Oct.  15,  1908. 

1,935 

231 

97,165 

50.2 

13.2 

2.85 

Apr.  14  to  Nov.  13,  1909. 
Mar.  31  to  June  24,  1910. 

2,892 
1,154 

564 
297 

188,300 
64,900 

65.1 

55.4 

20.2 
22.3 

2.42 

1.87 

The  time  lost,  about  15  per  cent,  was*  due  mostly  to  clogging 
of  flumes  by  the  large  angular  rock,  to  breaks  in  the  feed  flume 
and  to  repairs  on  the  sluicing  flumes.  The  largest  output  in  a 
single  day  was  181  cubic  yards  per  hour,  when  the  water  carried 
5.3  per  cent  of  solid  material. 

The  resulting  dam  is  an  ideal  structure  for  the  purpose.  The 
coarse  rock  of  both  slopes  is  proof  against  attacks  of  wind,  rain, 
or  waves,  and  has  no  tendency  to  slough  or  slide,  and  furnishes 
free  and  safe  outlet  for  any  leakage  or  seepage  through  the  dam. 
The  core  of  fine  material  furnishes  the  necessary  water-tightness, 
having  been  thoroughly  consolidated  or  packed  by  the  treatment 
received. 

Spillway. — The  spillway  provided  was  cut  through  the  ridge 
forming  the  right  abutment.  The  rock  revealed  was  seamy  and 
some  of  it  soft.  It  was  necessary  to  provide  a  concrete  lip  which 
was  180  feet  long,  and  its  lower  slope  was  warped  into  a  concrete 
channel  passing  through  the  ridge.  Before  the  construction  wa& 
undertaken  a  small  spring  was  observed  on  the  lower  side  of  the 
ridge  between  the  spillway  and  dam  site,  and  close  observation 
showed  that  its  volume  increased  as  the  water  was  raised  in  the 
reservoir,  and  decreased  as  it  was  lowered  again,  the  maximum 
discharge  observed  being  about  ^  second-foot.  As  the  reser- 
voir filled  other  springs  appeared  about  the  spillway,  especially 
at  the  contact  of  the  limestone  with  the  underlying  granite.  The 


CANAL   SYSTEM  319 

total  discharge  of  all  these  springs  never  exceeded  1  second-foot; 
it  is  entirely  clear  and  inert,  and  involves  no  menace  to  the  dam. 
As  little  water  usually  stands  in  the  reservoir  except  during  the 
irrigation  season,  the  leakage  involves  no  loss  of  water  as  it  is 
diverted  below  for  irrigation. 

A  small  amount  of  seepage  water  appears  in  the  flat  below 
the  dam,  but  whether  this  represents  seepage  through  or  under 
the  dam  is  uncertain;  it  is  probably  the  latter. 


DISTRIBUTION 

For  drawing  water  from  the  reservoir,  a  tunnel  6X6  feet 
partly  lined  is  provided  in  the  granite  abutment  at  the  east 
end  of  the  dam,  through  which  the  flow  is  controlled  by  two  36- 
inch  gates  set  side  by  side,  and  operated  through  a  tunnel  up- 
stream from  the  axis  of  the  dam.  The  normal  discharge  capacity 
is  100  cubic  feet  per  second.  This  tunnel  was  employed  during 
construction,  before  placing  the  gates,  to  discharge  the  flow  of  the 
stream,  which  it  accomplished  successfully. 

The  elevation  of  the  outlet  of  Conconully  Reservoir  is  2,232 
feet  above-sea  level.  The  stored  water  is  drawn  out  as  needed, 
and  flows  down  Salmon  River  about  12  miles  to  the  diversion 
weir  which  is  at  elevation  1,371,  a  fall  of  861  feet.  There  are 
several  points  along  this  stream  where  topographic  conditions 
are  favorable  for  the  development  of  power,  but  water  would  be 
available  only  in  the  irrigation  season.  The  diversion  dam  is 
an  ogee  concrete  structure  with  50-foot  length  of  overflow,  which 
raises  the  water  4J^  feet  into  a  canal  with  a  capacity  of  110  cubic 
feet  per  second. 

Two  miles  below  the  head  of  the  canal  about  50  second-feet 
of  water  is  dropped  110  feet  to  a  lower  bench,  and  two  miles  fur- 
ther down  the  upper  canal  another  drop  of  58  feet  occurs.  These 
drops  are  used  for  developing  power  used  for  pumping  on  about 
1,070  acres  of  the  lower  lands.  The  water  thus  pumped  is  lifted 
from  the  Okanogan  River  and  thus  supplements  the  supply  avail- 
able from  the  Salmon  River.  Each  of  these  power-plants  de- 
velops 187  kilowatts  on  the  switchboard,  which  is  transmitted 
about  5  miles  to  the  pumping  plant  near  Omak,  to  lift  water  to 
about  1,070  acres  on  Robinson  Flat.  The  pumping  plant  and 
both  power-plants  are  installed  in  reinforced  concrete  buildings 


PUMPING   SYSTEM  321 

with  roofs  of  corrugated  galvanized  iron.  Power-plant  No.  1 
uses  27  second-feet  under  a  head  of  105  feet,  through  a  turbine 
wheel  developing  about  250  horse-power,  direct  connected  to  the 
187-kilowatt  generator. 

The  penstock  is  a  26-inch  steel  pipe  and  is  313  feet  long. 

Power-plant  No.  2  takes  55  second-feet  of  water  under  56 
feet  head,  through  a  40-inch  pipe  154  feet  long  developing  nearly 
300  horse-power  on  a  turbine  wheel  and  187  kilowatts  on  the 
switchboard.  Both  wheels  are  controlled  by  automatic  governors 
and  are  provided  with  relief  valves. 

The  current  is  generated  at  6,600  volts  and  transmitted  5J^ 
miles  to  the  pumping  plant,  where  it  is  transformed  to  2,200  volts. 

The  pumping  plant  has  two  units  alike.  Each  consists  of  a 
200-horse-power  induction  motor,  direct  connected  to  a  two- 
stage  centrifugal  pump  of  6-second-feet  capacity. 

The  switches  are  as  nearly  automatic  as  possible,  automati- 
cally starting  and  stopping  the  motors  in  case  of  shutdown. 

The  two  pumps  unite  their  12-inch  discharge  pipes  in  a  "Y," 
which  increases  to  30  inches  and  is  built  of  steel  for  225  feet,  to 
a  bench  114  feet  above  the  river.  Here  it  connects  with  a  30- 
inch  continuous  wood-stave  pipe  4,117  feet  long.  The  total  lift 
is  177  feet.  The  pumping  plant  is  arranged  so  that  one  unit 
may  be  run  with  one  power-plant  at  full  or  partial  load,  or  both 
units  may  be  run  at  full  load  or  less.  The  wood-stave  pipe  is 
used  as  part  of  the  gravity  system  when  the  pumping  plant  is 
not  used.  The  capacity  of  the  plant  is  about  12  second-feet,  it 
serves  about  1,070  acres,  and  cost  about  $62,000. 

The  pumping  plant  is  purely  for  a  supplementary  supply,  and 
will  be  used  only  in  case  of  insufficient  supply  in  the  reservoir. 
It  will  be  idle  more  seasons  than  it  is  used,  but  is  indispensable 
in  low- water  years. 

A  part  of  the  main  canal  through  rock  is  lined  with  concrete 
for  the  purpose  of  economizing  in  excavation  and  for  preventing 
percolation.  A  large  part  of  the  distribution  system  also  is  lined, 
the  portions  selected  for  this  being  those  parts  located  in  sandy 
reaches  where  the  seepages  loss  would  be  great  without  the  lining. 

Water  is  delivered  on  a  rotation  system  of  seven-day  inter- 
vals, which  economizes  water  and  also  the  time  of  the  individual 
irrigator.  It  also  affords  opportunities  for  cleaning  ditches  and 
for  killing  weeds  and  aquatic  plants. 


324  OKANOGAN    PROJECT 


WATER  DELIVERY 

The  rotation  method  of  delivery  of  water  is  employed  on  the 
Okanogan  Project,  the  system  being  to  allow  a  water  user  for 
one  week  double  the  amount  of  water  which  would  be  required 
for  constant  flow  and  then  one  week  without  any  water  delivery. 

This  schedule  is  worked  out  before  the  irrigation  season  begins 
and  each  water  user  is  notified  of  the  dates  on  which  he  will  re- 
ceive water.  The  schedule  is  adhered  to  as  nearly  as  practicable, 
but  numerous  modifications  are  made  to  accommodate  the 
irrigators. 

The  system  as  worked  has  been  found  reasonably  economical 
of  water  and  of  labor,  and  is  entirely  satisfactory  to  the  water 
users. 

The  major  portion  of  the  land  irrigated  under  the  Okanogan 
Project  is  planted  to  fruit  trees,  the  apple,  peach,  and  pear  being 
the  principal  fruits  grown.  The  climate  and  soil  appear  to  be 
well  adapted  to  success  in  this  industry,  and  the  future  of  the 
project  is  bright. 

Conconully  Dam  was  built  by  Lars  Bersvik  under  the 
direction  of  E.  G.  Hopson.  The  canal  system  was  built  by 
Ferd  Bonstedt.  D.  C.  Henny  as  Supervising  Engineer  was 
mainly  responsible  for  the  plans  and  the  work  of  the  project. 


CHAPTER  XXI 
YAKIMA  PROJECT,  WASHINGTON 

GENERAL   STATEMENT 

The  Yakima  Project  is  situated  in  the  southeastern  portion 
of  the  State  of  Washington,  in  the  valley  of  the  Yakima  River,  a 
tributary  of  the  Columbia  River,  having  its  source  in  the  Cas- 
cade Mountains.  The  Yakima  River  has  a  length  of  about  175 
miles;  the  drainage  area  is  5,270  miles,  and  the  mean  annual 
run-off  is  about  3,300,000  acre-feet.  The  elevation  of  the  irri- 
gable area  is  about  400  feet  at  the  lower  end  of  the  valley,  and 
about  1,600  feet  at  the  upper  end,  and  the  rainfall  varies  from 
about  6  inches  at  the  lower  end  to  11  inches  at  the  upper  end. 
The  soil  is,  in  general,  volcanic  ash  or  a  sandy  loam,  of  consid- 
erable depth,  the  lower  lands  and  those  bordering  the  river  being 
underlaid  with  a  gravelly  sub-soil. 

The  first  irrigation  in  the  Yakima  Valley  was  undertaken 
by  private  parties  in  1867,  and  in  1903,  when  the  Reclamation 
Service  made  its  first  investigation  of  the  valley  at  the  request 
of  the  landholders,  there  were  approximately  120,000  acres  under 
irrigation  by  private  enterprise.  The  total  area  of  tillable  land 
that  can  be  irrigated  from  the  Yakima  River  and  its  tributaries, 
supplemented  by  storage  reservoirs,  is  estimated  at  670,000  acres, 
of  which  about  300,000  acres  have  been  provided  for  by  systems, 
Government  and  private,  completed  or  nearly  completed,  and 
370,000  acres  are  still  undeveloped. 

Water  Rights. — In  1903,  when  the  Reclamation  Service  entered 
the  valley,  there  were  about  120,000  acres  under  irrigation,  there 
was  no  system  of  regulating  the  diversions,  all  the  natural  flow  had 
been  appropriated,  and  the  appropriations  far  exceeded  the  avail- 
able supply,  and  it  was  urgently  necessary  that  a  check  be  placed 
on  further  appropriations  and  that  the  existing  appropriations 
be  limited  to  the  quantities  actually  used. 

This  was  the  first  problem  requiring  solution  by  the  Reclama- 
tion engineers.  They  were  assisted  in  this  by  the  great  interest 
325 


326  YAKIMA   PROJECT,    WASHINGTON 

taken  therein  by  the  people  of  the  valley,  and  the  efforts  resulted 
in  the  signing  of  agreements  by  all  the  important  water  appro- 
priators,  which  limited  their  rights  to  specific  quantities,  based 
on  the  quantities  diverted  during  the  month  of  August,  1905. 

The  situation  in  1905  was  such  that  all  further  development 
required  the  storage  of  flood  waters,  and  it  was  with  a  full  under- 
standing of  this  condition  that  development  was  undertaken  by 
the  Reclamation  Service.  A  special  act  of  the  State  legislature 
granted  to  the  United  States  certain  rights  of  way  and  water 
rights  that  enable  it  to  carry  on  its  operations  without  hindrance 
with  the  view  of  ultimately  developing  the  complete  water  re- 
sources of  the  Yakima  Valley. 

Storage  Reservoirs. — There  are  five  principal  reservoir  sites, 
three  at  the  headwaters  of  the  Yakima  River  and  two  at  the 
headwaters  of  its  principal  tributary,  the  Naches,  that  are  con- 
sidered feasible  at  the  present  time.  There  are  several  other 
sites  that  are  feasible  as  far  as  water  supply  is  concerned  but  that 
at  the  present  stage  of  irrigation  development  are  considered  too 
expensive  to  warrant  serious  consideration.  The  five  reservoirs 
mentioned  and  their  capacities  are  as  follows: 


Reservoir 

Capacity, 
Acre-Feet 

Kachess  
Keechelus  

210,000 
152,000 

Clealum  

501,000 

Bumping  Lake  

34,000 

Tieton 

185000 

Total 

1  082000 

The  combined  storage  capacity  of  these  reservoirs  when  fully 
developed,  as  at  present  planned,  together  with  the  natural  flow 
of  the  river,  will  assure  a  sufficient  supply  of  water  for  about 
670,000  acres. 

There  are  at  present  completed  the  Bumping  Lake  and  the 
Lake  Kachess  Reservoirs.  The  Lake  Keechelus  Reservoir  is 
nearly  completed.  At  Lake  Clealum  a  low  crib  dam  affords 
a  small  quantity  of  storage.  No  construction  work  has  been 
done  on  the  Tieton  Reservoir. 

Units  of  the  Yakima  Project. — The  topographical  features  and 


BUMPING    LAKE    DAM  327 

economy  of  construction  have  divided  the  valley  into  a  number 
of  units,  which,  except  for  those  already  developed,  may  or  may 
not  be  ultimately  developed  in  the  form  and  size  at  present 
outlined.  These  units  and  their  areas  are  as  follows: 


Unit 


Area, 
Acres 


Kittitas. 


Wapato 

Sunnyside 

Benton 

High  Line 


Total 


Under  existing  private  projects,  about. 


82,000 

34,700 

120,000 

102,000 

90,000 

100,000 


528,700 
140,000 


Total  irrigable  area  of  the  valley j      668,700 

The  Tieton  Unit  is  completed  and  the  Sunnyside  Unit  is  nearly 
completed.  The  Indian  Service  is  now  irrigating  about  40,000 
acres  under  the  Wapato  Unit.  The  Kittitas  Unit  is  now  in 
private  hands  under  the  State  Irrigation  District  Law,  and  con- 
templates obtaining  stored  water  from  the  Government  under 
the  Warren  Act.  No  definite  steps  have  been  taken  toward  the 
development  of  the  Benton  and  High  Line  Units.  The  location 
of  these  units  as  well  as  the  storage  sites  above  mentioned  are 
shown  on  the  accompanying  map  of  the  Yakima  Basin. 

BUMPING   LAKE   DAM 

This  is  an  earth  dam  located  at  the  outlet  of  Bumping  Lake, 
near  the  headwaters  of  the  Bumping  River,  a  tributary  of  the 
Naches,  which,  in  turn,  flows  into  the  Yakima  River,  near  the 
city  of  North  Yakima,  about  60  miles  away.  The  capacity  of 
the  reservoir  is  34,000  acre-feet;  the  area  at  high  water  is  1,350 
acres  and  the  drainage  area  of  the  basin  above  the  dam  is  68 
square  miles.  The  dam  is  an  earth  fill  with  puddled  core  and 
its  principal  features  are  given  in  the  following  tabulation: 

Maximum  height  above  stream  bed,  45  feet. 

Length  of  crest,  3,425  feet. 

Top  width,  20  feet 

Slopes — down-stream,  2  to  1;  up-stream,  3  to  1. 


328  YAKIMA   PROJECT,   WASHINGTON 

Volume,  233,850  cubic  yards. 
Spillway  length,  235  feet. 
Crest  of  spillway,  9  feet  below  crest  of  dam. 
Capacity  of  spillway,  6,000  c.f.s. 

Outlet  gates,  2  X  5'— 5'  C.  I.  slide  gates  for  regulation,  protected  by 
a  similar  pair  of  emergency  gates. 

Low-water  capacity  of  outlet  gates,  500  c.f.s. 

Fig.  112  shows  the  maximum  cross-section  of  the  dam  as 
constructed. 

The  construction  of  the  dam  was  advertised  twice  for  bids, 
but  none  were  received,  probably  due  to  the  fact  that  the  work 
was  located  more  than  60  miles  from  North  Yakima,  the  nearest 
supply  point,  in  extremely  rough  country  and  with  the  nearest 
railroad  station  at  Naches  City  47  miles  by  wagon  road  from  the 
dam  site.  The  dam  was  consequently  authorized  for  construc- 
tion on  November  19,  1908,  by  force  account. 

Wagon  Road. — -One  of  the  principal  features  connected  with 
the  construction  of  the  Bumping  Lake  Dam  was  the  wagon  road 
47  miles  in  length  from  Naches  City  to  the  dam  site.  This  road 
follows  the  Naches  and  Bumping  Rivers  and  included  the  con- 
struction of  several  bridges,  heavy  rock  and  earth  cuts,  and  con- 
siderable cribbing  and  corduroy  work  as  well  as  many  difficult 
construction  features. 

Construction  of  the  Dam. — Construction  operations  at  the  dam 
were  started  in  May,  1909.  By  the  end  of  June,  the  clearing  and 
grubbing  of  the  dam  site  were  completed  and  stripping  begun. 
Water  was  brought  from  a  stream  about  4,000  feet  from  the  south 
end  of  the  dam  by  a  canal  and  flume  into  a  penstock  near  the 
south  end  of  the  dam,  which  water  supplied  the  camp  boilers 
and  was  used  for  sluicing. 

A  45-ton  Bucyrus  steam  shovel  and  a  1-cubic-yard  Hayward 
orange-peel  skid  excavator,  together  with  teams  and  scrapers, 
were  the  principal  items  of  excavating  equipment. 

The  embankment  material  was  excavated  from  the  borrow 
pit  by  steam  shovel  and  loaded  into  1  ^-cubic-yard  dump  cars, 
which  were  hauled  by  horses  on  a  track  placed  on  the  outer 
edges  of  the  embankment  slope.  The  cars  were  dumped  toward 
the  center  of  the  dam  and  water  under  pressure  was  used  to 
sluice  the  finer  material  toward  the  center,  where  a  settling  pond 
was  maintained  to  make  an  even,  compact  puddle  core.  By  this 


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330  YAKIMA    PROJECT,    WASHINGTON 

sluicing  process  the  heavier  gravel  and  boulders  were  left  to 
form  the  outer  portions  of  the  dam.  The  tracks  were  shifted  as 
the  embankment  was  raised  and  the  core  thus  became  progres- 
sively thinner.  This  also  gave  the  proper  slope  to  the  faces  of 
the  dam.  The  larger  boulders  from  the  sluiced  materials  were 
placed  on  the  reservoir  side  of  the  embankment,  and  these,  to- 
gether with  a  large  quantity  of  rock  obtained  from  the  spillway 
excavation,  were  made  to  form  a  2-foot  thick  riprap  face  for  the 
embankment. 

It  was  originally  intended  to  construct  the  embankment  in 
the  ordinary  manner  by  depositing  the  material  in  layers  with 
the  usual  distribution  of  fine  and  coarse  material  and  by  spread- 
ing, wetting,  and  rolling,  but  on  account  of  the  unsatisfactory 
foundation  conditions  and  the  presence  in  the  material  of  a  large 
percentage  of  cobbles  and  large  boulders  that  could  not  be  satis- 
factorily rolled,  and  that  would  be  impracticable  to  remove  by 
hand,  an  entire  change  of  method  was  necessary. 

The  material  encountered  in  the  cut-off  trench  was  not  as 
tight  and  firm  as  expected  and  excavation  had  to  be  carried 
deeper  than  originally  contemplated.  Serious  seepage  conditions 
were  encountered  in  the  lower  portion  of  the  trench;  the  layer 
of  hardpan  that  it  was  expected  would  give  a  practically  imper- 
vious foundation  was  underlaid  by  a  stratum  of  loose  gravel  and 
•coarse  sand.  This  condition  required  radical  changes  in  the 
plans  of  construction  and  the  principal  change  decided  upon  was 
to  puddle  thoroughly  the  material  in  the  cut-off  trench  and  to 
effect  a  separation  of  the  materials  in  the  embankment  by  haul- 
ing out  on  the  dam  with  cars,  dumping  the  material  near  the 
outer  edges  of  the  embankment,  and  sluicing  into  place. 

Water  from  the  mountain  streams  beyond  the  north  end  of 
the  dam  was  brought  by  gravity  to  the  dam  in  sufficient  quantity 
for  effective  work.  A  line  of  12-inch  wood-stave  pipe  was  laid 
across  the  spillway  approach  in  a  trench  dug  to  subgrade  to 
the  north  end  of  the  dam,  where  it  branched  into  two  lines  of 
6-inch  wood  pipe,  one  line  laid  along  the  bottom  of  each  slope  of 
the  dam.  At  intervals  of  from  100  to  150  feet,  2-inch  wrought- 
iron  nipples  with  2-inch  valves  opening  toward  the  embankment 
were  screwed  into  the  6-inch  pipe.  For  sluicing  purposes,  2-inch 
cotton  hose  in  50-foot  lengths  and  %-inch  nozzles  were  used. 
By  this  arrangement,  water  could  always  be  readily  obtained  at 


332  YAKIMA    PROJECT,    WASHINGTON 

different  sluicing  points,  and  any  hose-line  could  be  changed 
without  interfering  with  others.  The  pressure  head  at  the  top 
of  the  dam  was  about  70  feet. 

The  steam  shovel  and  borrow  pits  were  located  near  the 
south  end  of  the  dam  and  it  was  necessary  to  build  temporary 
trestles  to  carry  the  material  across  the  river  so  that  filling  of 
the  northerly  portion  could  be  in  progress  while  the  river  section 
was  being  prepared.  This  trestle  was  490  feet  long  and  had  a 
maximum  height  of  35  feet  with  bents  spaced  20  feet  apart. 
The  double  track  was  laid  directly  on  the  floor,  which  was  14  feet 
wide,  but  it  was  found  that  with  the  tracks  so  close  to  the  edges 
the  horses  and  mules  would  crowd  toward  the  center,  making  it 
impracticable  to  have  trains  pass  on  the  bridge. 

A  large  quantity  of  material  was  dumped  down-stream  from 
the  high  trestle.  An  opening,  sufficient  to  allow  the  escape  of 
water  pumped  from  the  cut-off  trench,  was  left  near  the  south 
end.  When  the  excavation  of  this  trench  was  completed,  this 
opening  was  filled  and  when  the  dump  thus  made  had  become 
sufficiently  high,  the  tracks  were  removed  from  the  trestle  to 
the  embankment,  and  the  trestle,  with  the  exception  of  a  few 
posts  that  were  cut  off  as  low  as  possible,  was  taken  out.  The 
material  was  then  dumped  from  this  road-bed  and  sluiced  into 
the  trench.  The  track  on  the  opposite  slope  was  worked  at  the 
same  time,  the  material  also  being  sluiced  into  the  trench. 

While  working  on  the  embankment  at  the  higher  levels,  it 
was  necessary  to  use  a  series  of  settling  ponds.  These  ponds 
varied  in  length  from  200  to  400  feet,  and  were  separated  by 
small  earth  dams  carefully  made  of  selected  material  which  was 
wetted  and  thoroughly  compacted.  When  these  dams  attained 
considerable  height,  they  were  difficult  to  maintain  and  occa- 
sionally broke  through,  but  when  a  continuous  pond  was  ob- 
tained this  trouble  was  obviated  and  the  embankment  ^vas  more 
easily  carried.  Great  care,  however,  had  to  be  taken  to  keep  a 
satisfactory  width  and  depth  to  the  pond.  The  size  and  shape 
of  the  pond  were  regulated  by  changing  the  dumping  place  and 
method  of  sluicing,  as  necessary.  When  the  slope  became  too 
flat,  it  was  steepened  by  reducing  the  force  of  the  sluicing. 

A  satisfactory  silt  core  was  obtained  to  about  spillway  level, 
but  above  this,  on  account  of  the  narrow  pond,  the  method  had 
to  be  changed.  The  method  subsequently  used  was  to  dump 


KACHESS   DAM  333 

the  material  in  shallow  ponds  and  work  it  with  shovels  to  prevent 
stratification. 

Outlet  Works. — Water  is  drawn  from  the  reservoir  through  a 
7-foot  reinforced  concrete  conduit  near  the  middle  of  the  em- 
bankment. The  outflow  is  controlled  by  two  sets  of  5  X  5  cast- 
iron  slide  gates  having  two  such  gates  in  each  set,  one  to  be  used 
for  regulation  and  the  other  for  emergency  use.  The  gates  are 
operated  by  hand  from  a  concrete  tower,  access  to  the  tower 
from  the  crest  of  the  dam  being  had  by  a  light  steel  foot-bridge. 

Spillway. — The  spillway  weir  having  a  length  of  235  feet  is 
located  at  end  of  the  dam.  The  crest  of  the  spillway  is  9  feet 
below  the  crest  of  the  dam,  and  the  spillway  has  a  capacity  of 
6,000  second-feet.  The  spillway  channel  reduces  in  a  length  of 
about  200  feet  to  a  42-foot  wide  concrete  channel  150  feet  long 
with  side  walls  10  feet  high.  At  the  end  of  the  concrete  channel 
is  a  wooden  flume  42  feet  in  width  and  100  feet  long  on  concrete 
piers.  This  flume  discharges  the  flood  water  into  the  Bumping 
River  below  the  dam. 

KACHESS   DAM 

Description. — The  Kachess  Dam  is  a  rolled  earth  fill.  It  is 
located  at  the  lower  end  of  Lake  Kachess  about  3  miles  from  the 
town  of  Easton  on  the  Northern  Pacific  Railroad,  and  about  100 
miles  from  the  city  of  North  Yakima.  Lake  Kachess  is  the 
middle  one  of  the  three  large  lakes  near  the  head-waters  of  the 
Yakima  River  in  the  Cascade  Mountains.  It  has  a  very  regular 
shape,  is  about  10  miles  long,  and  has  a  maximum  width  of  about 
1  mile.  It  discharges  into  the  Kachess  River,  which,  in  turn, 
flows  into  the  Yakima  about  2  miles  below  the  outlet  of  the  lake. 
The  capacity  of  the  reservoir  is  210,000  acre-feet.  The  area  of 
water  surface  at  high  water  is  4,800  acres,  and  the  area  of  the 
drainage  basin  above  the  dam  is  63  square  miles.  The  maximum 
run-off  has  been  about  277,000  acre-feet  and  the  average  run-off 
for  a  period  of  eight  years  was  209,000  acre-feet. 

The  essential  details  of  the  dam  are  shown  in  the  following 
tabulation: 

Maximum  height  above  stream-bed,  63  feet. 

Length  at  crest,  1,400  feet. 

Top  width,  20  feet. 

Slopes — down-stream,  2  to  1;  up-stream,  3  to  1. 


334  YAKIMA   PROJECT,   WASHINGTON 

Volume  of  embankment,  182,000  cubic  yards. 

Length  of  spillway,  250  feet 

Crest  of  spillway,  10  feet  below  crest  of  dam. 

Capacity  of  spillway,  7,200  c.f  .s. 

Outlet  gates— 3-4'  X  10'  for  regulation  . 

3-4'  X  10'  for  emergency  use. 
Normal  capacity  of  outlet,  1,000  c.f.s. 

The  Kachess  River  is  very  crooked.  In  a  distance  of  2  miles 
it  progresses  only  2,800  feet  in  a  straight  line  from  the  lake. 
The  river  drops  some  35  feet  in  this  distance.  The  irregular 
course  of  the  river  afforded  excellent  facilities  for  handling  it 
during  the  construction  and  the  depth  of  the  lake  and  large  fall 
of  the  river  within  a  short  distance  made  feasible  the  tapping 
of  the  lake  at  an  elevation  about  30  feet  below  its  normal  outlet, 
thereby  giving  76,000  acre-feet  of  storage  below  the  elevation 
of  the  natural  outlet  of  the  lake. 

Trie  dam  is  built  across  the  Kachess  River  about  1,800  feet 
below  the  most  southerly  point  of  the  lake.  It  is  of  the  earth 
and  gravel  type  65  feet  high  and  1,400  feet  long.  Its  crest  is  at 
elevation  2,268,  and  has  a  top  width  of  20  feet.  The  up-stream 
slope  of  the  dam  is  3  to  1,  and  the  down-stream  slope  2  to  1.  To 
prevent  percolation,  a  wide  cut-off  trench  about  20  feet  deep  was 
excavated  parallel  with  the  axis  of  the  dam  and  from  20  to  60 
feet  up-stream  from  the  center  line.  In  the  bottom  of  this  trench 
a  narrower  trench  was  excavated  to  a  depth  of  from  35  to  75  feet 
below  the  original  ground  surface,  and  "in  it  a  concrete  core-wall 
2  feet  thick  was  built  extending  up  to  the  original  surface  of 
the  ground. 

The  outlet  channel  consists  of  five  distinct  sections:  An  open 
channel  extending  out  to  deep  water  in  the  lake,  followed  by  a 
closed  conduit  through  two  bends  in  the  original  course  of  the 
river,  an  open  channel  crossing  the  old  river-bed,  a  closed  con- 
duit through  the  dam,  and  finally  a  paved  open  channel  dis- 
charging into  the  river. 

The  first  section  of  the  outlet  channel  is  an  open  channel 
about  1,200  feet  long  extending  from  deep  water  in  the  lake  to 
a  point  where  a  covered  conduit  was  found  to  be  more  economical. 
This  conduit  is  of  reinforced  concrete  about  1,400  feet  long, 
horseshoe  shape,  9  X  10  feet  in  cross-section.  This  diverges  into 
a  paved  open  channel  of  large  cross-section  and  about  300  feet 


336  YAKIMA   PROJECT,    WASHINGTON 

long  immediately  in  front  of  the  dam.  The  conduit  through  the 
dam  is  of  reinforced  concrete,  horseshoe  shape,  12  X  12  feet  in 
cross-section  and  300  feet  long.  It  discharges  into  a  paved,  open 
channel  about  500  feet  long  which  empties  into  the  Kachess  River. 
The  flow  is  controlled  by  three  sets  of  two  cast-iron  slide  gates, 
each  4  X  10  feet,  placed  at  the  intake  of  the  dam  conduit  and 
operated  by  power  from  the  gate  towers.  The  maximum  capa- 
city of  the  outlet  works  is  5,000  cubic  feet  per  second  at  high 
water,  but  at  low  water  is  intended  to  have  a  capacity  of  only 
400  cubic  feet  per  second,  while  the  normal  designed  capacity  is 
1,000  second-feet. 

The  spillway  which  is  constructed  at  a  low  point  in  the  rim 
of  the  reservoir  %  mile  east  of  the  dam  has  a  crest  length  of 
250  feet,  and  is  designed  to  discharge  7,200  second  feet,  with  a 
head  on  the  weir  of  4  feet.  Provision  has  been  made  for  placing 
2  feet  of  flash-boards  on  the  crest  of  this  weir  to  get  additional 
storage  capacity. 

Construction  of  the  Dam. — The  construction  of  the  dam  was 
authorized  in  February,  1910,  and  some  work  was  done  by  Gov- 
ernment forces  in  the  following  few  months.  In  the  spring  of 
the  same  year,  bids  were  asked  for  the  construction  of  the  dam, 
but  the  proposals  received  were  considered  too  high  and  rejected. 
The  entire  work  was  subsequently  done  by  force  account. 

The  dredged  channel  from  deep  water  in  the  lake  is  about 
1,000  feet  long.  Its  bottom  is  from  30  to  35  feet  below  normal 
water  surface,  and  the  depth  of  excavation  averaged  about  27 
feet.  It  has  a  bottom  width  of  12  feet  and  side  slopes  of  3  to  1. 
The  material  was  a  blue  clay,  soft  and  oozy  on  top  and  gradu- 
ally growing  dryer  and  harder  with  the  depth.  The  total  volume 
removed  by  dredging  was  105,000  cubic  yards.  In  fair  digging, 
the  output  for  an  eight-hour  day  was  500  cubic  yards,  the  maxi- 
mum being  630  cubic  yards.  The  output  was  at  times  erratic 
on  account  of  high  winds  and  rough  water  or  the  necessity  of 
working  against  a  strong  current  when  releasing  storage  water. 
An  orange-peel  bucket  was  used  for  dredging. 

The  intake  and  trench  for  the  conduit,  from  the  lake  to  the 
open  channel  in  front  of  the  dam,  were  practically  all  excavated 
with  a  drag-line  excavator.  The  intake  excavation  was  difficult, 
as  the  material  at  the  lake  end  and  sides  was  mainly  a  plastic  blue 
clay  similar  to  that  in  the  lake-bed,  and  was  removed  during  the 


KACHESS    DAM  337 

rainy  season.  It  was  intended  to  carry  a  portion  of  the  excavation 
on  a  2  to  1  slope,  but  on  account  of  the  oozy  material  and  wet 
weather  much  of  it  assumed  a  much  flatter  slope,  and  at  times 
it  was  difficult  to  prevent  the  machine  from  sliding  with  it.  At 
the  intake  where  concrete  was  to  be  placed  it  was  necessary  to 
put  in  considerable  heavy  crib-work  to  hold  the  material.  The 
grade  of  the  intake  is  36  feet  below  the  lake  level,  and  water 
came  in  so  freely  that  an  8-inch  centrifugal  pump  was  kept  going 
continuously  to  handle  it.  The  soft  material  gave  out  a  short 
distance  from  the  lake.  In  digging  the  trench,  the  excavator 
was  kept  on  the  center  line  digging  from  the  end  and  dumping 
to  either  side;  the  cut  was  from  30  to  55  feet  deep;  the  trench 
was  taken  out  to  a  bottom  width  of  about  15  feet  with  slopes 
as  steep  as  they  would  stand.  The  material  was  a  cemented 
gravel  containing  a  comparatively  small  amount  of  clay  but  so 
firmly  cemented  that  in  places  its  sides  would  stand  almost  ver- 
tical, even  with  the  water  dripping  over  them,  and  so  hard  that 
it  was  necessary  to  loosen  the  entire  cut  by  blasting.  The  length 
of  this  trench  was  1,400  feet,  and  it  involved  the  excavation  of 
85,000  cubic  yards  of  material.  The  remainder  of  the  intake 
channel,  consisting  of  300  feet  of  open  channel,  from  the  end  of 
the  trench  just  discussed  to  the  dam  was  excavated  partly  by 
the  drag-line  excavator  and  the  deeper  canal  by  the  steam  shovel. 

The  excavation  for  the  conduit  under  the  dam  and  for  the 
open  channel  below  the  dam  was  started  with  teams,  but  it  was 
subsequently  found  that  the  material  was  so  hard  and  stony  that 
it  was  necessary  to  excavate  it  with  a  steam  shovel.  The  bottom 
of  the  channel  was  as  narrow  as  15  feet  in  places  and  the  maxi- 
mum cut  was  35  feet  with  \Y^  to  1  slope,  and  it  was  necessary 
to  make  five  separate  cuts. 

The  wide  cut-off  trench  under  the  dam  was  excavated  with 
teams  and  drag-line  excavator,  the  former  being  used  for  the  dry 
material  and  the  latter  where  water  was  encountered.  The 
drag-line  excavator  deposited  the  material  at  the  up-stream  toe 
of  the  dam,  making  an  excellent  footing  for  the  riprap  and  also 
disposing  of  the  material  with  one  handling. 

It  was  the  original  intention  to  carry  the  concrete  core-wall 
trench  to  bed-rock,  but  the  entire  excavation  was  in  such  uni- 
formly good  material  that  it  was  considered  unnecessary  to  go 
so  deep.  The  maximum  depth  reached  was  near  the  westerly 


338  YAKIMA   PROJECT,    WASHINGTON 

end,  which  was  carried  to  a  depth  of  75  feet  below  the  original 
ground  surface. 

Concreting  followed  closely  on  the  completion  of  the  excava- 
tion work.  Owing  to  the  cramped  and  wet  quarters  in  which  the 
conduit  in  the  approach  to  the  dam  was  built,  the  work  had  to 
be  prosecuted  day  and  night  in  order  to  complete  it  in  the  re- 
quired time,  which  time  was  limited  by  the  requirement  for  the 
passage  of  irrigation  water.  The  conduit  under  the  dam  was 
surrounded  at  frequent  intervals  by  cut-off  walls  projecting  4  feet 
on  all  sides  of  the  conduit. 

The  construction  of  the  lower  concrete  work  was  followed  by 
the  construction  of  the  gate  tower.  This  tower  consists  of  three 
sets  of  three  compartments  each.  The  up-stream  compartments 
contain  the  emergency  gates,  the  down-stream  compartments 
contain  stop-plank  grooves,  while  the  interior  compartments 
contain  the  regulating  gates.  The  operating  mechanism  installed 
on  the  floor  of  the  gate-house  is  so  arranged  that  the  gates  can 
be  operated  either  by  hand  or  by  power.  Power  is  obtained 
from  a  small  turbine  installed  in  the  west  stop-plank  compart- 
ment. To  prevent  drift  from  reaching  the  gates,  an  ample 
grillage  of  structural  steel  is  provided;  it  has  an  effective  area 
of  1,200  square  feet,  or  ten  times  the  area  of  the  gates,  and  ex- 
tends from  the  floor  of  the  intake  to  a  point  4  feet  above  the 
spillway  level.  The  gate-house  is  15  X  23  feet  in  plan.  Access 
to  the  gate-house  from  the  dam  is  had  by  means  of  a  steel  foot- 
bridge, 161  feet  long,  supported  on  three  steel  bents. 

Embankment. — The  preliminary  investigations  for  borrow  pits 
indicated  that  there  were  two  places  from  which  tight  material 
could  be  obtained.  One  of  these  was  located  within  1,000  feet 
of  the  east  end  of  the  dam,  while  the  other  was  about  1,500  feet 
from  the  west  end.  The  subgrade  of  the  easterly  pit  was  at  the 
same  elevation  as  the  crest  of  the  dam,  while  that  of  the  westerly 
pit  was  about  20  feet  below  it.  The  former  was  the  more  favor- 
able from  every  standpoint,  and  consequently  was  selected.  There 
was  no  choice  in  the  location  of  a  pit  for  coarse  material,  as  the 
only  material  of  this  kind  suitable  for  the  work  was  found  at 
a  distance  of  some  2,500  feet  from  the  east  end  of  the  dam. 

The  material  in  the  borrow  pit  proved  a  good  deal  better 
than  tests  indicated.  The  upper  3  feet  consisted  of  top  soil,  light 
in  .weight  and  containing  a  large  amount  of  fine  earthy  material, 


KACHESS   DAM  339 

and,  with  the  exception  of  scattered  boulders  of  large  size,  the 
layer  contained  about  50  per  cent  of  the  boulders  found  in  the 
pit.  Below  this  hard-pan  was  found  consisting  of  clay,  sand, 
and  from  35  to  40  per  cent  of  coarse  and  fine  gravel.  This  layer 
was  so  hard  as  to  require  shooting,  but  the  material  below, 
although  it  contained  about  the  same  ingredients  and  possibly 
a  larger  percentage  of  clay,  was  not  so  firmly  cemented. 

The  embankment  was  compacted  by  the  sprinkling  and  roll- 
ing method.  The  material  was  spread  in  8-inch  layers  and  all 
stones  exceeding  4  inches  in  diameter  picked  out,  loaded  into 
one-horse  dump  carts,  and  placed  on  the  up-stream  slope  for 
protection  against  wave  action.  The  trestle  from  which  the 
material  was  dumped  was  800  feet  long,  of  which  300  feet  averaged 
60  feet  high.  It  was  built  of  round  timber  saved  from  the  clear- 
ing, except  the  caps  and  stringers,  which  were  dressed.  The  bents 
were  20  feet  apart,  three  posts  to  a  bent.  The  trestle  was  located 
practically  on  the  center  line  of  the  dam  with  the  base  of  rail 
at  the  proposed  crest.  It  was  double-tracked  with  30-pound 
steel  rails,  24-inch  gage.  A  double  track  was  laid  to  the  borrow 
pit  for  tight  material  and  a  single  track,  with  sufficient  turnouts, 
to  the  borrow  pit  for  loose  material. 

The  material  from  the  borrow  pit  was  loaded  into  trains  of  15 
1J/2  cubic-yard  side-dump  cars,  hauled  by  9-ton  steam  locomo- 
tives, and  was  dumped  from  the  up-stream  side  of  the  trestle. 
Spreading  was  done  with  four-horse  fresnoes.  It  was  found,  after 
the  work  became  systematized,  that  one  fresno  would  distribute 
about  150  cubic  yards  of  the  tight  material  in  eight  hours.  The 
gravel  or  loose  material  was  loaded  by  the  drag-line  excavator 
into  a  specially  constructed  hopper  of  40  cubic  yards  capacity, 
mounted  on  skids  for  moving,  and  fitted  with  two  chutes  and 
controlling  gates,  which  enabled  two  cars  to  be  loaded  at  one 
time.  It  was  hauled  in  trains  of  twelve  cars  each,  dumped  from 
the  down-stream  side  of  the  trestle  and  spread  with  four-horse 
fresnoes.  One  fresno  would  spread  from  150  to  175  cubic  yards 
of  gravel  in  eight  hours,  the  haul  being  much  shorter  than  for 
the  tight  material  and  the  gravel  more  easily  loaded. 

On  account  of  the  small  working  space  of  the  embankment, 
difficulty  was  at  first  experienced  in  spreading  the  material  as 
fast  as  it  came  in,  but,  while  the  capacity  of  the  machines  was 
never  taxed,  a  system  was  soon  devised  whereby  it  was  kept 


340  YAKIMA   PROJECT,    WASHINGTON 

pretty  well  cleaned  up.  About  ten  trains  would  be  dumped  in 
one  pile;  then  another  pile  of  ten  train-loads  would  be  made 
near  the  first  pile,  leaving  only  room  for  a  roadway  between; 
then  a  third  pile  adjacent  to  the  second.  While  the  second  pile 
was  being  made  the  first  pile  would  be  spread  and  stones  picked 
from  the  second  pile;  then  while  cars  were  dumping  on  the  third 
pile,  the  stones  would  be  picked  from  it,  and  the  second 
pile  spread.  In  this  way  there  were  no  waiting  and  no  confusion 
with  the  roller  working  on  the  area  previously  spread.  The  tight 
material  occupied  the  up-stream  two-thirds  of  the  dam  and  the 
gravel  the  down-stream  one-third.  The  gravel  was  handled  in 
the  same  way  except  that  it  spread  much  easier  and  the  piles 
did  not  require  plowing,  which  was  necessary  with  the  tight 
material.  The  impact  from  falling,  particularly  in  the  lower 
levels  of  the  embankment,  compacted  this  material  very  tightly. 

The  tight  material  was  spread  in  8-inch  layers  and  sprinkled 
by  a  2-inch  hose  with  %-inch  nozzle,  the  amount  of  water  vary- 
ing greatly  and  depending  on  the  weather  and  material.  The 
tendency  at  first  was  to  use  too  much  water,  which  produced 
a  kneading  motion  in  front  of  the  roller.  Careful  watching  of 
the  conditions  and  reducing  the  amount  of  water,  and  sprin- 
kling often  with  a  rather  fine  spray,  corrected  this  condition. 
The  rolling  was  done  with  an  ordinary  16^-ton  traction  engine. 
Extension  rims  on  the  driving  wheels  gave  a  rear-wheel  base  of 
56  inches.  Assuming  that  they  carried  two-thirds  of  the  weight, 
the  pressure  per  linear  inch  was  400  pounds.  This  engine  seemed 
about  the  right  weight  for  the  material,  and  an  excellent  embank- 
ment was  obtained. 

It  was  found  that  the  compacted  layer  was  slightly  less  than 
6  inches  in  thickness.  Test  pits  were  put  down  frequently  in 
order  to  have  a  complete  record  of  the  behavior  of  the  material, 
to  determine  whether  or  not  the  proper  amount  of  water  was 
being  used,  and,  in  general,  to  indicate  whether  there  was  any- 
thing to  be  guarded  against  or  improved.  No  stratification  was 
apparent,  the  only  adverse  criticism  to  be  made  was  that  certain 
layers  that  had  been  exposed  to  ram  showed  a  little  too  much 
water.  The  gravel  was  spread  in  a  similar  manner  except  that 
small  stones  were  not  so  carefully  picked  out.  The  rolling  was 
done  by  a  grooved  roller  drawn  by  four  horses  and  more  water 
was  used  than  on  the  upper  side.  The  stones  picked  out  were 


KACHESS   DAM 


341 


placed  on  the  down-stream  slope.  The  junction  of  loose  and  tight 
material  in  the  dam  was  approximately  at  the  down-stream  post 
of  the  trestle  bent. 

All  trestle  bracing  was  taken  out  as  the  fill  was  raised,  nothing 
being  left  in  but  the  posts.  When  within  8  feet  of  the  top  the 
gravel  portion  was  brought  up  about  6  feet,  one  track  thrown 
on  it,  the  balance  of  the  trestle  removed,  and  the  remainder  of 
the  embankment  completed. 

An  analysis  of  the  material  for  the  tight  portion  of  the  em- 
bankment as  determined  from  samples  taken  at  different  depths 
from  the  borrow  pit  gives  the  following  percentages  passing 
through  different  screens: 


Screen 
No. 

Per  Cent 
Passing 

Screen 
No. 

Per  Cent 
Passing 

3/. 

98  3 

20 

38  3 

*r; 

94  7 

40 

31  3 

i 

91  6 

60 

26  1 

i1  it 

83  6 

80 

23  3 

9 

74  9 

100 

21  3 

3 

68  9 

165 

18  0 

4 

60  3 

200 

16  7 

10.... 

47.3 

A  very  complete  drainage  system  was  provided  in  the  dam 
to  lead  off  harmlessly  any  water  that  may  find  its  way  into  the 
dam.  At  the  down-stream  toe  is  a  large  trench  from  6  to  10  feet 
wide  in  the  bottom  and  from  6  to  8  feet  deep  extending  the  entire 
length  of  the  dam  and  backfilled  with  stone/which  filling  is  also 
carried  some  distance  up  the  slope.  From  30  to  60  feet  up-stream 
from  the  toe  is  a  12-inch  tile  drain  laid  with  open  joints  in  a 
trench  and  surrounded  with  2  feet  of  small  stone.  This  drain 
has  frequent  outlets  to  the  main  drain  at  the  toe.  Should  water 
succeed  in  passing  through  the  tight  material,  it  will  drop  in  the 
gravel  portion,  which  contains  practically  no  clay,  and  escape 
through  the  drain. 

The  up-stream  slope  of  the  dam  is  protected  from  wave  action 
by  a  2-foot  layer  of  riprap  placed  on  a  bed  of  small  stone  3  feet 
thick,  thus  making  a  thickness  of  5  feet  of  rock  between  the 
embankment  material  and  the  water.  The  smaller  stones  are 
generally  against  the  embankment,  while  the  outer  stones  are 


342  YAKIMA   PROJECT,   WASHINGTON 

practically  all  2  feet  thick,  many  of  them  being  of  derrick  size. 
The  down-stream  slope  requires  no  protection,  but  to  prevent 
ravelling  and  to  better  hold  the  material  it  was  faced  with  a 
layer  of  small  stone  picked  out  of  the  loose  material.  This  layer 
is  thicker  at  the  bottom  than  at  the  top  and  averages  about  3  feet. 
The  principal  items  included  in  the  construction  of  the  dam 
were  as  follows: 


a 


PI  •    ' 

50  acre 

s 

yds. 

yds. 
ft. 

Grubbing  

16      " 
.  .  .     550,000  cu. 
8,635 
1,600 
1,250 

Dry  paving,  12"  thick  

Gravel  under  dry  paving  
Backfill                 

625 
.  .  .     320,000 
2,700 
8,500  cu. 
.  .  .      182,000        ' 
900  lin. 
100      " 
.     300,000  Ibs. 

Rockfill 

Riprap  
Embankment  
Drain  pipe,  12"  

Reinforcing  steel.  . 

TIETON   UNIT 

The  Tieton  Unit  comprises  about  34,000  acres  of  land,  the 
main  body  of  which  lies  directly  west  of  the  City  of  North  Yakima 
and  approaches  practically  to  the  city  limits.  Much  of  the  land 
in  the  immediate  vicinity  of  North  Yakima  is  irrigated  by  pri- 
vately owned  ditches  taking  water  from  the  Naches  River  and 
neighboring  streams,  but  these  ditches  water  only  the  lower- 
lying  land,  the  lands  included  under  the  Tieton  Project  being 
higher  in  elevation.  The  project  thus  borders  on  a  highly  devel- 
oped district,  agriculturally,  and  a  fast  growing  one,  and  in  that 
respect  is  very  favorably  situated. 

The  irrigation  system  of  the  Tieton  Project  was  difficult  to 
construct  on  account  of  the  necessity  of  having  to  carry  the 
main  supply  canal  down  the  deep  canyon  of  the  Tieton  River 
for  a  distance  of  12  miles,  involving  the  construction  of  a  lined 
canal  on  a  very  steep  side  hill  several  hundred  feet  above  the 
river-bed,  and  requiring  several  tunnels  aggregating  in  length 
about  11,000  feet. 

Water  is  diverted  from  the  Tieton  River  into  the  main  canal 


TIETON    DIVERSION    DAM  343 

at  a  point  about  16  miles  from  the  mouth  of  the  river,  and  about 
36  miles  from  the  City  of  North  Yakima.  The  principal  features 
of  construction  are  listed  in  the  following  tabulation: 

Diversion  dam  and  head-gates. 

9.8  miles  of  segmental  concrete-lined  canal  8'  4"  in  diameter  with 
the  sides  extending  about  2  feet  above  the  horizontal  diameter. 

Six  tunnels  aggregating  10,963  feet  in  length. 

Five  automatic  wasteways  for  protecting  the  main  canal  by  dis- 
charging the  water  from  the  canal  in  case  of  accident. 

32  miles  of  canal  from  50  to  300  second-feet  capacity. 

193  miles  of  canal  less  than  50  second-feet  capacity. 

533  concrete  and  wooden  canal  structures  of  various  sizes. 

279,000  feet  of  concrete,  wood  and  clay  pipe  of  various  sizes. 

77,400  feet  of  wood  and  metal  flumes. 

Excavation  of  about  1,500,000  cubic  yards  of  material  of  various 
classes. 

Wagon  Road. — Preliminary  to  the  construction  of  the  main 
canal  in  the  Tieton  Canyon  it  was  necessary  to  build  a  road 
from  the  mouth  of  the  Tieton  River  to  the  head-works.  This 
involved  the  construction  of  about  15  miles  of  road,  including 
several  bridges  across  the  river. 

Diversion  Works. — The  diversion  works  consist  of  a  rein- 
forced concrete  intake  structure  and  a  low  crib  and  concrete 
dam.  The  intake  structure  has  three  4X5  gate  openings  con- 
trolled by  cast-iron  sluice-gates  with  rising  stem  and  independent 
hand  gears.  The  elevation  of  the  gate  still  is  2,295.14  feet  above 
sea-level,  and  the  operating  floor  is  18  feet  higher.  The  maxi-. 
mum  high  water  in  the  river  is  estimated  to  be  at  an  elevation 
of  about  3^  feet  below  the  operating  floor.  The  designed  capac- 
ity of  the  main  canal  is  300  cubic  feet  per  second  and  the  gates 
are  designed  to  pass  this  quantity  at  the  low-water  stage  of  the 
river.  The  gates  are  protected  by  flash-board  grooves,  both  above 
and  below,  so  that  one  gate  may  be  cut  out  of  service  and  removed 
at  any  time  without  interference  with  the  others. 

The  diversion  dam  is  a  simple  structure,  having  a  concrete 
rollway  3  feet  high  and  110  feet  long  with  its  crest  about  12  feet 
below  the  operating  floor  of  the  intake  structure.  The  intake 
structure  is  protected  on  the  up-stream  side  by  sheeting,  and 
well  puddled,  and  on  the  down-stream  side  by  a  timber  crib  16 
feet  wide  constructed  of  logs  drift-bolted  together  and  faced  with 
6X12  timbers.  Protection  from  back-cutting  is  given  by  6  X  12- 


344  YAKIMA   PROJECT,   WASHINGTON 

inch  sheeting  extended  downward  vertically  to  impervious  ma- 
terial and  the  filling  in  the  river-bed  beyond  with  large-size 
boulders.  To  avoid  the  deposition  of  gravel  in  front  of  the  gates, 
two  sluiceways  6  feet  wide  are  provided  through  the  dam  at  the 
end  immediately  adjacent  to  the  head-gates.  The  floor  of  these 
sluiceways  is  3  feet  below  the  crest  of  the  spillway,  and  at  times 
of  extreme  low  water  these  gates  may  be  closed  by  dropping 
flash-boards  in  grooves  provided  for  the  purpose.  The  principal 
quantities  involved  in  the  construction  of  the  head-works  wrere 
10,000  cubic  yards  of  excavation,  330  cubic  yards  of  embankment 
in  dike,  330  cubic  yards  of  concrete,  2,100  linear  feet  of  round 
logs,  18,000  feet  board-measure  of  lumber,  and  400  cubic  yards 
of  paving. 

Tunnels. — The  original  plans  for  the  main  canal  provided 
for  eleven  tunnels,  but  as  construction  proceeded  this  number 
was  reduced  to  five,  having  an  aggregate  length  of  10,963  feet, 
the  length  of  the  individual  tunnels  being  as  follows: 

Steeple  Tunnel 103  ft.  long 

Trail  Creek  Tunnel 3,120"      " 

Columnar  Tunnel 1,200"      " 

Tieton  Tunnel 2,730  "      " 

North  Fork  Tunnel 3,810"      " 

Steeple  Tunnel  consists  of  two  short  tunnels,  55  and  48  feet 
long,  respectively,  separated  by  62  feet  of  open  canal.  They 
are  located  near  the  upper  end  of  the  main  canal  in  a  steep,  rocky 
bluff,  from  which  the  tunnels  were  named.  This  tunnel  is  lined 
with  the  regular  shapes  used  for  lining  the  open  canal,  which 
required  a  heading  9  feet  6  inches  in  diameter,  involving  about 
2.6  cubic  yards  of  excavation  per  linear  foot.  The  drilling  was 
done  entirely  by  hand,  and  about  24  feet  of  the  tunnel  were 
lined  with  timber.  The  rock  was  a  dense  quality  of  basalt  some- 
what weathered  near  the  surface. 

The  Trail  Creek  Tunnel  is  located  about  5  miles  below  the 
diversion  works  through  an  abrupt  rock  cliff  which  extends  ver- 
tically to  the  river.  The  tunnel  bore  approximates  a  circle  about 
8  feet  3  inches  in  diameter.  The  lining  has  an  approximately 
trapezoidal  shape  with  about  4  feet  bottom  width,  ^  to  1  side 
slope,  and  a  depth  of  6  ^  feet.  The  material  excavated  amounted 
to  2.3  cubic  yards  per  linear  foot  of  tunnel.  The  material  was  a 


TIETON   TUNNELS 


345 


very  hard  basalt  and  required  no  timbering.  The  drilling  was 
done  with  Adams  electric  drills,  which  were  later  superseded  by 
Temple-Ingersoll  electric  air  drills.  This  tunnel  was  a  source  of 


STANDARD   TUNNEL  SHAPE  SECTION  D-D 

FIG.  115. — Tunnel  and  Canal  Sections,  Tieton  Main  Canal. 

considerable  trouble  on  account  of  the  very  hard  rock  and  the 
requirement  for  experienced  drill  runners  to  operate  the  electric 
air  drills,  which  quality  of  labor  was  not  always  readily  obtained. 
Columnar  tunnel  is  located  about  3  miles  down-stream  from 
Trail  Creek.  It  is  circular  in  cross-section,  with  a  bore  7  feet 


346  YAKIMA   PROJECT,    WASHINGTON 

3  inches  in  diameter.  The  material  is  a  volcanic  debris  which 
was  very  easily  driven.  The  quantity  of  material  excavated  was 
2  cubic  yards  per  linear  foot  of  tunnel.  Air  drills  were  used  with 
some  hand  drilling  during  breakdowns  of  the  power  supply.  This 
was  the  easiest  of  all  the  tunnels  to  drive.  The  material  drilled 
easily  and  required  little  powder  to  break  and  worked  well  to 
neat  lines.  About  1,200  feet  of  this  tunnel  required  permanent 
timbering.  The  tunnel  has  a  circular  concrete  lining  4  inches 
thick,  built  in  2-foot  sections,  which  were  manufactured  in  the 
central  yard  in  the  canyon  below  and  hoisted  up  into  the  tunnel 
and  grouted  into  place. 

The  Tieton  and  North  Fork  tunnels  are  located  at  the  lower 
end  of  the  main  canal  and  are  separated  by  a  short  stretch  of 
open  canal.  The  North  Fork  Tunnel  pierces  the  divide  separ- 
ating the  Tieton  Basin  from  that  of  Cowiche  Creek.  The  cross- 
section  of  these  tunnels  is  circular,  the  diameter  of  the  bore 
being  7  feet  3  inches,  and  the  lining  is  similar  to  that  used  in  the 
Columnar  Tunnel.  The  material  in  the  Tieton  Tunnel  is  a 
hard  clay  with  occasional  soft  spots.  The  quantity  of  material 
excavated  amounted  to  2.1  cubic  yards  per  linear  foot  of  tunnel. 
Air  drills  and  electric  air  drills  were  used.  The  material  was 
very  variable  in  character,  ranging  from  the  loosest  dirt  to  the 
hardest  basalt,  the  hard  rock  predominating. 

The  material  in  the  North  Fork  Tunnel  is  a  basaltic  forma- 
tion very  loose  in  places.  The  quantity  excavated  amounted 
to  2.4  cubic  yards  per  linear  foot  of  tunnel.  Air  drills  were  used. 
Noteworthy  features  of  the  construction  of  this  tunnel  were  the 
presence  of  large  quantities  of  seepage  water,  which  required  prac- 
tically continuous  pumping  during  construction  and  the  loose- 
ness of  the  material,  which  required  the  timbering  of  2,660  linear 
feet  of  the  tunnel,  or  70  per  cent  of  the  total  length.  From  the 
lower  portal  of  this  tunnel  the  water  from  the  main  canal  emerges 
into  the  valley  in  which  the  irrigation  lands  are  located. 

A  noteworthy  feature  of  the  construction  of  the  tunnels  is 
the  poor  results  obtained  with  the  use  of  electric  drills.  These 
drills  were  operated  by  three-phase,  sixty-cycle  220  volts  alter- 
nating current.  As  the  work  progressed  continual  trouble  was 
caused  by  the  breakage  of  parts  of  the  drills,  the  springs  opera- 
ting the  rebound  being  especially  susceptible  to  injury.  Much 
delay  was  encountered  in  obtaining  duplicate  parts.  In  addi- 


TIETON    CANAL  347 

tion  there  was  difficulty  in  obtaining  drill  runners  skilled  in  the 
use  of  electric  drills.  Ordinary  drillmen  would  generally  refuse 
to  use  the  apparatus,  or  if  persuaded  to  make  a  trial,  would 
obviously  use  it  in  an  unsympathetic  and  ineffective  way.  Care- 
ful study,  however,  of  the  effectiveness  of  the  electric  drills,  even 
when  skilfully  handled,  showed  that  in  very  hard  rock  they  were 
uneconomical,  their  penetrating  power  being  low.  Eventually, 
Temple-Ingersoll  drills  were  substituted  and  the  work  was  com- 
pleted with  them.  These  drills  are  practically  air  drills  driven 
by  an  electrically  operated  air  pump  on  a  small  truck.  This 
apparatus  was  found  to  be  much  more  effective  than  the  electric 
drills  for  which  they  had  been  substituted,  the  blows  being  more 
forcible  and  the  penetrations  correspondingly  more  satisfactory. 
This  apparatus,  also,  was  found  to  be  far  less  subject  to  injury 
than  the  electric  drills. 

Canal  Lining. — The  main  canal  in  its  length  of  about  12 
miles,  from  the  diversion  point  in  the  river  to  the  lower  extremity 
of  the  tunnel  through  the  Naches  Ridge,  encountered  practically 
every  variety  of  material  in  its  course,  but  at  no  point,  excepting 
in  the  extreme  upper  1,000  feet,  was  the  formation  such  as  to 
permit  of  the  use  of  the  ordinary  type  of  unlined  earth  canal. 
Early  surveys  disclosed  the  fact  that  the  greater  part  of  the 
main  canal  would  lie  on  side  hill  slopes  averaging  close  to  60 
per  cent.  The  side  hill  material  for  the  most  part  consisted  of 
soils  and  gravelly  clays,  frequently  intermingled  with  slide  rock 
material  and  occasionally  consisting  wholly  of  loose  rock.  The 
earthy  material  in  the  side  hill  was  found  to  be  generally  unstable 
during  the  spring,  when  frost  was  coming  from  the  ground,  and 
this  instability  was  later  found  to  be  particularly  noticeable  in 
some  of  the  slide  rock  material  when  lubricated  by  moisture  and 
clay,  which  frequently  occurred. 

At  first  it  was  hoped  that  an  ordinary  unlined  canal  section 
in  open  cut  might  be  used  for  some  of  the  work,  but  this  idea 
had  to  be  abandoned,  and  later  it  became  doubtful  whether  even 
ordinary  concrete  lining  would  hold  the  canal  intact  on  the  steep 
side  hill  slope  after  the  tendency  to  cave  and  slide  had  become 
evident.  The  side  hill  material  was  found  to  lie  mostly  on  the 
natural  angle  of  repose.  This  became  increasingly  evident  when 
it  was  observed  that  heavy  sloughing  and  sliding  of  a  highly 
significant  character  had  occurred  on  the  natural  slopes  when  the 


TIETON    CANAL  349 

melting  snow  and  rain  had  thoroughly  saturated  the  upper  side 
hill  material,  which  was  frequently  fractured  and  jointed  in 
every  direction,  with  slippery  clay  seams,  and  disintegrating 
rapidly  on  exposure  to  the  weather. 

The  conclusions  reached  in  consequence  of  the  aforementioned 
observations  were:  First,  that  the  type  of  canal  should  involve 
as  little  disturbance  of  the  natural  side  hill  slopes  as  possible; 
second,  that  the  canal  should  be  self-sustained  structure  capable 
of  resisting  considerable  external  earth  pressure  on  its  upper  side, 
and  of  sufficiently  rigid  cross-section  to  retain  its  integrity  against 
internal  hydrostatic  pressure  without  depending  on  any  support 
from  the  outside  embankment.  These  requirements  obviously 
eliminated  the  ordinary  concrete-lined  canal  and  pointed  to 
flume  construction  as  the  probable  solution.  The  objection  to 
ordinary  flume  construction  in  this  case  was  the  absence  of  re- 
sistance to  lateral  earth  pressure.  A  further  and  very  impor- 
tant objection  to  either  of  these  methods  of  construction  was 
that  the  lining  would  have  to  be  built  in  place.  Gravel  and 
sand  in  workable  quantities  could  be  found  only  along  the  bot- 
tom of  the  canyon.  Water  for  sprinkling  and  mixing  would  have 
to  be  taken  from  the  river,  hundreds  of  feet  below  the  canal 
location,  except  at  its  upper  end;  and,  moreover,  the  transpor- 
tation of  building  material  and  the  conduct  of  building  operations 
on  the  canal  line  would  have  been  attended  with  much  incon- 
venience on  account  of  the  steepness  of  the  canyon  walls  and 
the  narrowness  of  the  ledge  on  which  work  would  have  had  to 
be  done.  On  the  other  hand,  there  were  several  flat  areas  in  the 
river  bottom  which  could  advantageously  be  used  as  yards  for 
manufacturing  and  curing  the  concrete  lining  in  sections  to  be 
subsequently  hoisted  on  to  the  canal  line  to  be  grouted  in  place. 
This  method  of  construction  was  adopted. 

Fig.  115  shows  the  typical  cross-sections  of  canal  and 
tunnel  lining  as  constructed.  The  sections  or  shapes  in  which 
the  lining  was  manufactured  are  of  uniform  length  of  2  feet 
both  for  open  canal  and  tunnel  work.  Each  shape  consisted  of 
a  slab  of  reinforced  concrete  4  inches  in  thickness,  molded  to 
the  desired  shape.  The  reinforcement  consisted  of  2/g-inch  cor- 
rugated rods  placed  4  inches  from  center  to  center.  Each  open 
canal  shape  was  stiffened  by  a  4  X  6-inch  cross-bar,  which  had 
for  reinforcement  two  ^-inch  corrugated  rods.  The  tunnel 


350  YAKIMA   PROJECT,   WASHINGTON 

shapes  were  complete  cylinders.  The  concrete  in  these  shapes 
is  generally  composed  of  one  part  of  cement  to  ten  parts  of  un- 
mixed aggregate,  the  latter  being  proportioned  so  as  to  give  a 
mixture  as  dense  as  possible.  The  shapes  were  all  cast  on  their 
sides  in  steel  forms.  The  forms  were  made  of  thin  sheet  steel 
riveted  to  steel  angles  and  stiffened  with  suitable  bracing  of 
light  angle  iron.  The  forms  for  the  open  canal  were  made  in 
four  pieces,  two  inside  and  two  outside.  All  tunnel  forms  were 
made  in  six  pieces  of  similar  construction,  and  were  light,  being 
handled  easily  by  two  men.  The  method  of  construction  may 
be  briefly  described  as  follows: 

At  points  along  the  bottom  of  the  canyon  level  spaces  each 
of  a  few  acres  in  extent  were  selected  and  used  as  yards  for  manu- 
facturing the  shapes.  These  spaces  were  necessarily  small  in 
area,  on  account  of  the  confined  nature  of  the  canyon,  and  occu- 
pied practically  all  the  available  space.  At  some  of  these  points 
concrete  material  was  at  hand,  but  at  others  it  had  to  be  hauled 
from  a  distance.  All  open  canal  and  tunnel  lining  shapes  were 
cast  at  these  yards.  All  mixing  was  done  in  cubical  batch  mixers, 
each  batch  exactly  filling  the  mold.  The  open  canal  shapes 
contained  about  0.47  cubic  yard,  and  the  tunnel  shapes  about 
0.5  cubic  yard. 

In  placing  the  mold  the  inside  forms  were  first  set  up  over 
a  portable  templet  and  bolted  firmly  together  so  that  all  shapes 
Avould  have  exactly  the  same  inside  dimensions.  The  inside  forms 
when  bolted  together  were  then  laid  in  their  correct  position  on 
the  ground,  supported  by  four  wood  blocks.  The  outside  forms 
were  then  placed  in  position  spaced  4  inches  outside  of  the  inner 
form  and  held  by  wooden  blocks  and  iron  clamps.  The  next 
step  was  to  prepare  a  firm  and  correctly  molded  base  on  which 
to  tamp  the  concrete  in  the  molds.  This  was  obtained  with 
a  preparation  of  sand  and  plaster  of  Paris  worked  to  the  con- 
sistency of  mortar  and  tamped  to  a  thickness  of  about  1  inch 
in  the  bottom  of  the  mold.  The  top  of  this  plaster  was  readily 
brought  to  a  smooth,  even  surface  by  a  metal  molding  iron. 
The  plaster  of  Paris  hardened  quickly  into  a  tough  mass  which 
fully  closed  .the  bottom  of  the  molds  and  gave  an  even 
bed  on  which  to  place  the  concrete.  It  also  prevented 
the  leakage  of  the  finer  portions  of  the  concrete  material. 
The  concrete  shapes,  after  being  cast,  were  left  undisturbed 


352  YAKIMA   PROJECT,    WASHINGTON 

for  intervals   of   from   24   to  36  hours  before  the  forms  were 
removed. 

The  shapes  were  permitted  to  lie  in  the  yard  for  a  period  of 
not  less  than  thirty  days,  after  which  they  were  raised  from 
their  beds  and  hauled  to  a  point  where  they  were  loaded  on 
special  cars  for  delivery  to  the  canal.  From  each  yard  inclined 
hoists,  driven  by  electric  motors,  or  cableways  similarly  operated, 
were  used  to  deliver  the  loaded  shapes  to  the  canal  line.  The 
loaded  cars  when  delivered  on  the  canal  line  were  made  up  into 
trains  of  four  or  five  cars  and  hauled  by  horses  along  the  tem- 
porary track  laid  in  the  canal-bed  to  the  point  where  laying 
operations  were  in  progress.  Each  shape  weighed  about  1,800 
pounds,  and  in  setting  them  in  place  it  was  somewhat  difficult 
to  adjust  them  accurately  and  speedily.  When  adjusted  in  posi- 
tion and  carefully  blocked,  the  shape  was  at  once  back-filled, 
the  space  between  the  bottom  of  the  concrete  shape  and  the 
canal-bed  being  from  4  to  6  inches.  Much  attention  was  given 
to  the  thorough  tamping  of  the  backfilling  directly  under  the 
shape  so  that  there  should  be  no  danger  of  subsequent  settle- 
ment. The  backfilling  for  a  width  of  about  6  feet  under  the 
shape,  therefore,  was  watched  very  carefully,  and  only  selected 
material  was  used  for  this  purpose. 

On  sharp  curves,  shapes  molded  a  little  narrower  on  one 
side  than  on  the  other  were  inserted,  but  on  curves  of  large  radius 
no  specially  molded  shapes  were  used,  the  curvature  being  taken 
up  entirely  in  the  joints. 

The  joints  were  made  of  concrete  with  fine  aggregate,  the 
stone  passing  a  ^-inch  mesh.  The  joint  was  well  filled,  but 
before  the  concrete  had  set,  the  surface  of  joint  in  the  interior 
of  the  canal  was  scraped  off  and  a  finish  coat  of  mortar  was  trow- 
elled on  so  that  the  finished  surface  of  the  joint  was  exactly  flush 
with  the  surfaces  of  the  shapes.  The  width  of  the  joint  per- 
mitted any  small  irregularity  due  to  the  placing  of  the  shapes  or 
in  the  dimensions  of  the  shapes  themselves  to  be  taken  up  with- 
out any  abrupt  jog  in  the  interior  of  the  canal.  The  normal 
width  of  joints  was  \Y^  inches. 

The  short  Steeple  Tunnel  was  lined  with  the  regular  canal- 
lining  shapes.  The  other  tunnels,  with  the  exception  of  Trail 
Creek  Tunnel,  which  was  lined  with  a  trapezoidal  concrete  lining 
built  in  place,  were  lined  with  reinforced  concrete  shapes  built 


TUNNEL   LINING  353 

in  rings  2  feet  in  length.  The  aggregate  length  of  the  three 
tunnels  so  lined  is  8,000  feet.  The  tunnel  lining  was  cast  in  the 
yard  in  the  same  manner  as  the  open  canal  lining,  and  the  shapes 
were  finally  delivered  in  the  tunnel  on  small  cars.  These  cars 
were  especially  designed  for  lightness  and  compactness  so  that 
the  empties  could  be  readily  lifted  from  the  track  and  stacked 
temporarily  in  the  tunnel,  pending  their  return  to  the  yards, 
without  interference  with  delivery  of  the  loaded  cars. 

Trail  Creek  Tunnel,  which  was  not  lined  with  the  circular 
shapes,  was  driven  through  very  hard  and  firm  basalt,  and  as 
there  seemed  to  be  no  necessity  for  a  permanent  arch  for  the 
roof,  it  was  decided  to  omit  it,  in  general,  and  build  concrete 
lining  in  place  by  the  usual  methods.  It  was  found,  however, 
that  the  actual  cost  of  lining  and  backfilling,  which,  in  this  case, 
included  only  the  side  walls  and  invert,  exceeded  the  cost  of  the 
complete  circular  lining  by  the  shape  method  as  previously 
described.  This  was  due  principally  to  the  excessive  quantities 
of  concrete  required  to  fill  holes  and  cavities  in  the  sides  caused 
by  irregularities  in  blasting  the  tunnel.  The  experience  derived 
from  lining  the  tunnels  for  the  Tieton  Canal,  with  shapes  cast 
in  a  yard,  has  demonstrated  that  this  method  of  tunnel  lining 
can  be  used  advantageously  for  tunnels  of  moderate  dimensions. 

The  excavation  and  preparation  of  the  bed  for  the  concrete 
shapes  were  attended  with  considerable  difficulty  because  of  the 
location  of  the  canal,  the  steep  slopes,  and  the  numerous  side 
gullies  and  gorges  which  broke  the  continuity  of  the  side  hills 
and  required  special  treatment.  The  line  was  located  so  as  to 
reduce  the  excavation  to  a  minimum  and  also  so  that  there  should 
be  the  minimum  disturbance  of  the  natural  slopes  of  the  hill- 
sides. The  natural  slopes,  however,  were  frequently  so  steep 
that  1^2  to  1  slope  on  the  upper  side  of  the  canal  excavation 
would  only  intersect  at  a  considerable  distance  above  the  canal 
line,  so  that,  even  with  the  shallow  cut  required  for  this  type 
of  construction,  a  large  quantity  of  material  had  to  be  removed. 
Practically  all  excavation  was  by  hand,  the  steepness  of  the 
hillside  not  permitting  the  use  of  animals  or  mechanical  methods. 
Wherever  the  canal  location  was  in  earth  a  4-inch  drain  tile 
was  laid  along  the  bottom  of  the  trench  on  the  side  toward  the 
hill,  outlets  for  the  drain  being  built  at  intervals  of  from  300 
to  500  feet.  This  drain  was  for  the  purpose  of  taking  care  of 


354  YAKIMA   PROJECT,   WASHINGTON 

natural  ground  water  or  seepage  water  from  the  canal  and  pre- 
venting its  accumulation  and  its  tendency  to  soften  the  bed  of 
the  concrete  lining. 

The  full  canal  at  its  capacity  is  designed  to  flow  5  feet  3  inches 
in  depth,  leaving  a  clearance  of  9  inches  under  the  cross-bars. 
It  was  estimated  that  the  canal  lining  would  have  a  coefficient 
of  roughness  of  .012  in  Kutter's  formula  and  the  resulting  veloci- 
ties would  be  9  feet  per  second  with  a  discharge  of  300  second- 
feet.  The  finished  inside  of  the  tunnels,  excepting  the  Trail 
Creek  Tunnel,  is  circular  in  shape  with  a  diameter  of  6  feet  1^£ 
inches.  The  depth  of  flowing  water  in  the  tunnel  at  canal  capac- 
ity was  estimated  at  5  feet  3  inches,  leaving  a  maximum  clear- 
ance of  about  10  inches.  The  estimated  velocity  in  the  tunnels 
was  12.65  feet  per  second. 

Notwithstanding  the  tortuous  nature  of  the  alignment  of  a 
large  portion  of  the  canal,  observations  subsequently  made  showed 
that  the  canal  will,  undoubtedly,  carry  its  maximum  capacity. 
The  average  of  a  number  of  readings  showed  that  with  274  sec- 
ond-feet of  water  flowing  the  mean  depth  in  the  lined  canal  was 
4  feet  7  inches,  or  8  inches  less  than  the  estimated  depth  at  full 
capacity.  Further  observations  showed  that  the  value  of  "n" 
in  Kutter's  formula  varies  from  about  .012  at  the  beginning 
of  the  irrigation  season  to  about  .013  at  the  end  of  the  season. 
This  is  due  to  the  formation  of  a  slimy  growth  on  the  surface 
of  the  lining  in  contact  with  the  water.  After  the  irrigation 
season,  when  the  canal  is  empty,  this  substance  dries  up  and 
disappears,  and  the  next  season  is  begun  with  clear  surface. 

One  of  the  first  steps  after  the  preliminary  surveys  was  to- 
build  a  wagon-road  the  entire  length  of  the  canal  along  the  bot- 
tom of  the  canyon.  A  water-power-plant  was  constructed  near 
the  lower  end  of  the  canal  to  furnish  power  for  driving  the  tun- 
nels, advantage  being  taken  of  a  steep  fall  in  the  river  to  build 
a  power  canal.  The  turbine  installation  at  its  lower  extremity 
developed  about  250  horse-power  under  a  head  of  about  30  feet, 
the  turbine  being  belt-connected  with  a  two-stage  air  compressor 
and  a  generator  for  lighting  and  power  purposes.  Another 
hydro-electric  installation  was  made  near  the  upper  end  of  the 
canal,  making  about  600  horse-power  at  the  two  power  plants. 

Wasteway. — A  noteworthy  feature  of  this  canal  is  the  waste- 
way  system.  During  the  construction  of  the  canal  the  fact  was 


TIETON   WASTEWAYS  355 

disclosed  that  frequently  large  boulders  came  tumbling  down  the 
hillside  of  such  size  as  to  be  capable  of  completely  demolishing 
a  section  of  the  canal.  The  danger  of  allowing  a  long  stretch 
of  the  main  canal  on  the  precipitous  mountainside  to  be  unpro- 
tected by  wasteways  was  apparent.  Five  wasteways,  each  ca- 
pable of  discharging  the  entire  flow  of  the  canal,  were  constructed 
at  strategic  points.  The  object  was  to  provide  immediate  relief 
for  the  canal  in  case  of  a  break,  as  it  was  recognized  that  such 
break,  unless  attended  to  almost  instantly,  would  result  in  serious 
damage.  As  accidents  might  happen  either  by  day  or  by  night, 
it  was  necessary  that  the  operation  of  these  wasteways  be  auto- 
matic, and  they  were  therefore  planned  to  operate  by  means  of 
floats  in  the  canal  which  would  respond  to  variations  in  the 
level  of  the  water  surface,  and  thus  close  an  electric  circuit  opera- 
ting the  valves. 

The  wasteways  are  of  two  types;   one  of  these  consists  of  a 
cylindrical  gate  6  feet  in  diameter  and  2  feet  high  placed  in  a 
pocket  adjacent  to  and  about  10  feet  below  the  bottom  of  the 
canal.     The  operation  of  the  valve  is  caused  by  means  of  an 
electro-magnet  operating  a  trip,  which,  when  released,  allows  a 
lever  with  a  counterweight  suspended  in  practically  a  vertical 
position  to  drop,  thereby  hitting  a  horizontal  lever  attached  to 
a  cam,  with  the  result  that  a  knuckle  joint  is  pushed  out  of  its 
fixed  position  and  made  to  collapse,  due  to  the  dead  weight  of 
the  gate  itself.     This  gate,  dropping  below  its  cap,  allows  the 
water  to  pour  in  on  all  sides  and  connection  is  made  under  the 
valve  to  a  flume  for  discharging  the  water  of  the  canal  back  into 
the  river.     This  type  of  wasteway  was  to  a  considerable  extent 
experimental,  and  it  was  found  that  it  did  not  work  with  entire 
satisfaction,  due  principally  to  interference  with  the  operation  of 
the  valve  of  pebbles  and  gravel  that  were  washed  along  the  bot- 
tom of  the  canal  and  lodged  in  the  basin  in  which  the  valve  is 
located.     This  type  of  valve  was  used  for  two  of  the  wasteways. 
The  other  three  wasteways  have  a  4  X  5  cast-iron  sluice-gate 
which  is  operated  by  a  10-inch  vertical  wicket-gate  turbine,  the 
turbine  being  located  just  outside  the  wasteway  pit  with  its  in- 
take at  such  an  elevation  that  the  sluice-gate  is  entirely  opened 
when  the  receding  water  falls  to  the  center  of  the  intake  opening. 
The  turbine  shaft  is  connected  to  the  main  gate  shaft  through  a 
system  of  gears.     To  the  turbine  gate  shaft  is  attached  a  drum 


356  YAKIMA   PROJECT,   WASHINGTON 

around  which  a  small  cable  is  wound,  having  on  its  end  a  sus- 
pended weight.  When  the  turbine  gate  is  closed  the  weight  is 
suspended  and  holds  a  projecting  pin  from  the  handwheel  against 
the  magnet  release,  which  is  electrically  connected  with  floats 
placed  at  intervals  along  the  canal.  An  abnormal  change  of 
water  surface  in  the  canal  makes  a  connection  at  the  float  that 
causes  the  magnet  to  release;  the  dropping  of  the  weight  opens 
the  turbine  gates,  which  starts  the  turbine,  and  the  turbine  opens 
the  wasteway  gates.  When  the  falling  water  drops  below  the 
turbine  intake  the  machinery  ceases.  To  close  the  gate  the 
operation  must  first  be  started  by  hand  until  the  water  rises  in 
the  pit  sufficiently  to  enter  the  turbine  intake,  after  which  the 
clutch  may  be  thrown  in  and  the  gate  closed  by  power.  The 
system  is  laid  out  in  such  a  manner  that  the  maximum  time 
required  to  empty  the  stretch  of  canal  between  any  two  waste- 
ways  is  from  15  to  20  minutes. 

Distribution  System. —  On  emerging  from  the  last  tunnel 
through  the  Naches  Ridge  the  water  is  delivered  into  the  north 
fork  of  Cowiche  Creek,  from  which  it  is  diverted  at  five  points 
by  low  earth  diversion  dams  into  eight  main  laterals.  From  these 
laterals  numerous  smaller  ones  extend  to  all  parts  of  the  project, 
carrying  water  to  each  40-acre  subdivision. 

Cowiche  Creek  traverses  centrally  the  northern  half  of  the 
project  lands.  The  country  has  a  fall  of  about  100  feet  to  the 
mile.  It  was  found  advantageous  to  use  the  creek  as  a  main  supply 
artery  and  divert  the  laterals  at  stratgeic  points  as  required. 
The  earthen  dams  that  divert  the  water  from  the  creek  into 
the  main  laterals  are  simple,  inexpensive  structures  paved  on 
the  up-stream  side  and  across  the  spillway  channels,  which  are 
designed  to  safely  discharge  the  annual  flood  that  results  in  the 
creek  by  melting  snows  in  the  hills  near  the  headwaters  of  the 
same. 

In  addition  to  the  use  of  the  main  channel  of  Cowiche  Creek 
as  a  main  supply  canal,  the  practice  of  using  natural  watercourses 
for  carrying  irrigation  water  was  followed  throughout  the  project 
wherever  possible.  They  were  used  as  main  distributaries  and 
small  diversion  dams  were  constructed  across  the  channels  where 
it  was  desired  to  divert  the  water  into  sublaterals.  These  diver- 
sions were  usually  made  by  small  concrete  headings,  the  flow 
of  water  being  controlled  by  either  circular  cast-iron  gates  or 


,  i 

i 


>  i 

K* 


<j  '^m 

N     -- 


H 


V^ 


358 


YAKIMA   PROJECT,   WASHINGTON 


by  flash-boards.  The  ravines  used  in  this  manner  usually  had 
rock  or  cement  gravel  bottoms  and  required  very  little  improve- 
ment. The  use  of  these  natural  drainage  channels  resulted  in 
a  large  saving  of  cost  in  original  construction  and  also  in  the 
cost  of  maintenance. 

The  topography  of  the  entire  irrigable  area  is  very  rough, 
which  necessitated  the  use  of  a  large  number  of  siphons  for  reach- 
ing isolated  areas  and  conducting  the  water  across  ravines.  Where 
the  elevation  of  a  crossing  was  less  than  12  feet,  flumes  were 
generally  used.  For  heads  greater  than  12  and  less  than  20 
feet,  plain  concrete  pipe  of  small  diameter  was  used. 

For  the  higher  heads  reinforced  concrete  pipe  of  small  diam- 
eter was  used  with  considerable  success  and  economy.  About 
20,000  linear  feet  of  such  pipe  were  used,  varying  in  diameter 
from  8  inches  to  14  inches  and  being  subjected  to  heads  of  from 
26  feet  to  115.  The  reinforcement  consisted  of  a  wire  fabric  as 
a  base  on  which  was  wound  in  a  helical  coil  the  main  reinforce- 
ment, which  was  No.  12  gage  wire.  The  spacing  was  adjusted  in 
accordance  with  the  head  to  which  the  pipe  was  to  be  subjected. 
The  cost  of  manufacturing  and  laying  these  pipes  is  given  in  the 
following  tabulation: 

MANUFACTURE  OF  REINFORCED-COXCRETE  PIPE 


8"  Diam. 

8"  Diam.  1  10"  Diam. 

12"  Diam.     14"  Diam. 

l?/8"  Shell 

2"  Shell        2"  Shell 

2"  Shell 

2"  Shell 

Total  Linear  Feet  

3,207 

8,342 

5,781 

5,325 

1,867 

Cost  per  Foot  

$0.063 

$0.057 

SO.  055      $0.064 

$0.073 

Mixing  and  placing  

.014 

.014 

.010           .013 

.011 

Finishing  

.014 

.014 

.010 

.013 

.011 

Sprinkling  
Cement  

.006 
.051 

.006 
.063 

.005 
.070 

.005 
.082 

.006 
.096 

Sand  and  gravel  

.033 

.038 

.045 

.051 

.055 

Reinforcement  . 

.050 

071 

066 

087 

094 

Tar  paper  and  fasteners  .  . 

.042 

.034 

.034 

.034 

.042 

Plant  construction  !       .  032 

.031 

.034 

.049 

.075 

Plant  maintenance  .  028 
Equipment  depreciation  .  .  !       .  006 

.034 
.007 

.042 
.008 

.048 
.012 

.055 
.018 

Total  

$0.325 

$0.355 

$0.369 

$0.445 

$0.525 

TIETON    DISTRIBUTION    SYSTEM 


359 


per  bbl.        f.o.b.  plant 
cu.  yd. 


Ibs. 


sq.  ft. 


Material: 

Cement $2 . 50 

Sand 2.00 

Aggregate 2.00 

A.  S.  &  W.  Style  7  fabric 0.0395 

No.  12  annealed  wire 0. 03 

Tar  paper 0 . 002 

Labor: 

Foreman $125.00  per  month 

Tampers 2 . 80  to  $3 . 00  per  day 

Fillers 2.40"     2. 

Finishers 2 . 40 

Sprinkler 2.60 

Mixer  tender 3 . 00 

Laborers 2.00 

HAULING  AND  LAYING  REINFORCED-CONCRETE  PIPE 


Items 

COST  PER  LINEAR  FOOT 

8" 

10" 

12" 

14" 

Excavation  trench  
Laying  and  jointing  
Backfilling  trench  
Haulage  on  pipe  
Cement  for  jointing  
Sand  and  water  for  jointing 

$0.130 
.093 
.020 
.043 
.025 
.025 

$0.132 
.118 
.024 
.051 
.039 
.041 

$0.162 
.146 
.020 
.059 
.041 
.044 

$0.180 
.168 
.045 
.068 
.048 
.049 

Total 

$0.336 

$0.405 

$0.472 

$0.558 

SUNNYSIDE   UNIT 

The  Sunnyside  Unit  comprises  a  body  of  land  containing 
about  103,000  acres  and  extending  from  a  point  about  8  miles 
southeast  of  North  Yakima  to  a  point  about  6  miles  east  of  the 
town  of  Prosser.  The  project  has  an  elongated  shape  with  a 
total  length  of  about  50  miles  and  a  maximum  width  of  about 
8  miles.  About  10,000  acres  are  on  the  south  side  of  the  Yakima 
River  east  of  the  Yakima  Indian  Reservation.  The  remaining 
lands  are  on  the  north  side. 

A  large  part  of  the  lands  included  within  the  Sunnyside  Proj- 
ect was  originally  owned  by  the  Northern  Pacific  Railroad  Com- 
pany, and  this  company  was  naturally  the  first  to  make  investi- 
gations of  the  feasibility  of  irrigating  the  same.  Their  engineers 
made  several  adverse  reports,  but  in  1889  a  company  was  formed 


360  YAKIMA   PROJECT,    WASHINGTON 

for  constructing  a  canal  for  supplying  these  lands.  This  com- 
pany together  with  its  several  successors  constructed  the  main 
canal  to  a  capacity  of  about  650  second-feet  at  the  intake,  to- 
gether with  some  of  the  main  laterals,  and  in  1906,  when  the 
Reclamation  Service  acquired  the  system,  there  were  about 
30,000  acres  under  irrigation. 

Investigations  of  this  project  by  engineers  of  the  Reclama- 
tion Service  left  no  doubt  as  to  the  feasibility  of  enlarging  the 
system  and  extending  the  same  to  cover  a  much  larger  acreage. 
Furthermore,  to  allow  the  Reclamation  Service  to  enter  upon 
the  development  of  other  projects  in  the  Yakima  Valley,  it  was 
necessary  that  the  United  States  obtain  control  of  the  water 
rights  owned  by  the  Sunnyside  Canal.  This,  together  with  the 
almost  unanimous  opinion  of  land-owners  that  the  Reclamation 
Service  should  take  over  the  system,  led  to  its  acquisition  by 
the  United  States. 

The  system  was  purchased  by  the  United  States  in  1906,  and 
shortly  after  said  purchase  construction  work  looking  toward 
the  enlargement  and  improvement  of  the  system  was  begun. 
At  the  present  time  about  80,000  of  the  103,000  acres  included 
in  the  project  are  supplied  with  water,  and  the  main  items  of 
work  accomplished  are  listed  in  the  following  tabulation: 

31  miles  of  open  canal  over  800  second-feet  capacity. 
19  miles  of  open  canal  from  301  to  800  second-feet  capacity. 
33  miles  of  canal  from  50  to  300  second-feet  capacity. 
442  miles  of  laterals  less  than  15  second-feet  capacity. 
6,300  canal  structures  of  various  kinds  and  materials. 
121,000  feet  of  concrete,  metal,  clay,  and  wood  pipe. 
About  204,000  linear  feet  of  concrete,  metal,  and  wooden  flumes. 
The  total  quantity  of  excavation  involved  in  the  construction  of  the 
canals  is  about  2,800,000  cubic  yards. 

ENLARGEMENT  AND  IMPROVEMENT  OF  THE  SYSTEM 

The  work  done  by  the  Reclamation  Service  on  the  Sunnyside 
Project  included  the  following  main  items: 

Construction  of  new  diversion  works,  enlargement  of  the 
main  canal  and  main  laterals,  extension  of  the  distribution  lat- 
erals, the  construction  of  a  large  number  of  concrete  drops,  cul- 
verts, and  turnouts  on  the  main  canal,  construction  of  two  main 
wasteways  and  the  construction  of  two  pressure  pipes  to  carry 


362  YAKIMA   PROJECT,    WASHINGTON 

water  from  the  main  canal  to  supply  lands  on  the  south  side  of 
the  river. 

Diversion  Works. — The  diversion  works  for  the  Sunnyside 
Canal  are  located  on  the  Yakima  River  about  8  miles  southeast 
of  North  Yakima.  At  this  point  in  the  river  an  outcrop  of  bed- 
rock is  close  to  the  surface  for  nearly  the  full  width  of  the  stream 
and  forms  an  excellent  foundation  for  the  diversion  dam  and 
head-gates.  The  dam  constructed  by  private  enterprise  consisted 
of  a  series  of  steel  brackets  fastened  to  a  concrete  foundation 
and  spaced  6  feet  apart  across  the  entire  length  of  the  dam,  which 
was  360  feet  long.  When  upright,  these  brackets  extended  6 
feet  above  the  concrete  floor,  and  a  dam  of  this  effective  height 
could  be  made  by  using  2  X  8  X  12-inch  flash-boards  on  the  in- 
clined up-stream  face  of  the  brackets.  In  high  water,  when  no 
.dam  was  needed  to  divert  water  into  the  canal,  the  flash-boards 
were  removed  and  the  brackets  folded  over  sidewise  so  as  to  lie 
flat  on  the  concrete  foundation.  In  low-water  stages  the  brack- 
ets were  raised  by  means  of  chains  and  the  flash-boards  inserted 
as  needed  to  obtain  the  required  diversion  into  the  canal.  At 
the  north  end  of  the  dam  there  was  a  masonry  gate-house  which 
served  as  the  dam  abutment,  and  between  this  gate-house  and 
the  shore  a  timber  bulkhead  with  five  6  X  6-foot  openings,  which 
were  closed  by  wooden  gates.  The  headworks  were  of  temporary 
construction  and  rather  unserviceable.  The  dam  was  little  better, 
and,  moreover,  the  raising  and  lowering  of  the  brackets  of  this 
dam  were  accomplished  with  considerable  difficulty  and  danger 
owing  to  the  sudden  floods  which  frequently  occur  in  the  Yakima 
River,  so  that  when  plans  were  made  by  the  Government  for  a 
new  headworks  to  fulfill  the  requirements  of  the  enlarged  canal, 
it  was  considered  necessary  to  abandon  this  movable  dam  and 
to  construct  one  with  a  fixed  crest.  As  the  lands  up-stream 
from  this  dam  are  quite  low  and  flat,  it  was  necessary  to  con- 
struct a  dike  for  some  distance  up-stream  to  protect  these  lands 
during  high  water. 

The  new  dam  is  of  concrete  of  the  ogee  type,  8%  feet  high 
and  20  feet  wide,  including  the  apron.  The  total  length  of  this 
dam  between  abutments  is  500  feet.  The  new  headworks  struc- 
ture is  also  of  concrete  of  the  ordinary  type,  containing  six  6  X  6- 
foot  openings  closed  with  cast-iron  gates  operated  by  hand.  The 
opening  and  closing  of  these  gates  by  hand  are  a  rather  slow  process, 


SUNNYSIDE    DIVERSION    WORKS  363 

and  in  order  to  stop  the  flow  of  the  water  into  the  canal  quickly 
in  case  of  an  emergency,  such  as  a  break  in  the  canal  banks, 
Tainter  gates  were  installed  directly  back  of  the  cast-iron  sluice- 
gates. These  gates  are  pivoted  on  a  2^-inch  steel  shaft  and  are 
held  open  by  steel  chains  run  to  the  floor  of  the  structure  where 
they  are  held  by  keys.  When  it  is  desired  to  shut  off  water 
in  the  canal  quickly  these  keys  are  withdrawn  and  the  gates 
dropped  into  place,  thus  closing  off  the  water.  The  usual  flash- 
board  grooves  above  and  below  the  main  gates  are  also  provided 
to  allow  the  cutting  out  of  any  one  of  the  gates  for  repairs  with- 
out interfering  with  operation  of  the  remaining  gates.  The  earth 
dike  on  the  south  side  of  the  river  extends  about  1  mile  up-stream. 
It  has  a  top  width  of  10  feet  and  the  level  of  the  top  is  13  feet 
higher  than  the  crest  of  the  dam. 

Excavation  for  Enlargement  of  Main  Canal. — This  work  pre- 
sented a  serious  problem.  It  was  obviously  very  undesirable 
to  excavate  any  material  from  the  embankment  side  of  the  canal. 
It  was  desirable  that  most  of  the  excavated  material  be  deposited 
on  the  lower  side,  especially  where  the  lower  side  was  in  embank- 
ment. Furthermore,  over  a  large  portion  of  the  canal,  it  was 
very  uneconomical  to  deposit  the  material  on  the  upper  side  on 
account  of  the  deep  cut.  Moreover,  in  order  to  do  the  work 
continuously  and  economically,  it  was  necessary  to  excavate 
while  water  was  running  in  the  canal,  as  the  supply  of  irrigation 
water  could  not  be  interrupted  during  the  irrigation  season. 
These  requirements  obtained  especially  in  the  first  30  miles  of  the 
canal.  Below  the  thirtieth  mile  the  cuts  were  in  general  not  so 
deep  and  the  fills  not  so  high,  and  the  canal  was,  of  course,  con- 
siderably smaller. 

The  necessity  for  excavating  with  water  in  the  canal  made 
imperative  the  use  of  machinery  for  this  excavation;  the  main 
portion  of  the  work  was  consequently  done  in  this  manner.  Some 
of  the  very  deep  cuts  and  some  places  where  the  material  was 
too  hard  for  the  machines  to  handle  were  excavated  by  teams. 
On  the  upper  22  mites  of  the  canal  a  continuous  bucket  elevator 
dredge  with  belt  e^aVeyors  was  used.  This  type  was  selected 
principally  for  its*"^adaptability  to  mounting  on  a  floating  hull 
and  the  long  reach  of  its  conveyors.  Below  the  twenty-second 
mile  a  drag-line  excavator  was  used.  This  machine  was  operated 
from  the  upper  bank  and  its  reach  was  sufficient  to  reach  the 


SUNNYSIDE    CANAL  365 

opposite  bank  and  excavate  the  full  section  while  depositing  the 
material  on  the  upper  side.  The  concrete  drop  structures  through 
which  the  dredge  had  to  pass  had  a  clearance  of  only  32  feet 
between  abutments,  and  it  was  therefore  necessary  to  keep  the 
width  of  the  hull  within  about  30  feet  out  to  out.  This  narrow 
width  of  hull  with  the  great  massive  machinery  to  support  made 
it  rather  unstable  and  hard  to  handle.  The  dredge  was  a  3}/£- 
cubic-foot  steam-driven  continuous  bucket  elevator  type  with 
an  82  X  30  X  6^2-foot  hull  drawing  5  feet  of  water.  Steam  was 
furnished  by  two  80-horse-power  locomotive  type  boilers.  The 
main  drive  and  ladder  hoist  were  driven  by  a  70-horse-power  double 
horizontal  engine;  winch  machinery  for  spuds  and  for  swinging 
the  dredge  was  driven  by  a  two-cylinder  20-horse-power  double 
horizontal  engine.  Conveyors  were  driven  by  the  two  18-horse- 
power  single  cylinder  horizontal  engine.  A  hydraulic  giant  was 
mounted  on  the  bow  to  remove  banks  above  the  water-level  and 
beyond  the  reach  of  the  buckets.  The  conveyors  were  72  feet 
long  and  had  seven-ply  32-inch  rubber  conveyor  belting.  The 
drag-line  excavator  was  a  Lidgerwood-Crawford  13^-cubic-yard 
bucket  machine  with  a  60-foot  boom.  •  It  was  steam-driven  with 
a  48  X  114-inch  vertical  boiler  and  a  9  X  10-inch  double  cylinder 
engine.  A  6  X  6-inch  double  cylinder  engine  was  used  to  turn 
the  machine. 

The  finished  canal  section  excavated  by  the  dredge  has  a 
bottom  width  of  44  feet,  a  water  depth  of  8  feet,  and  a  normal 
depth  to  the  top  of  banks  of  12  feet.  The  finished  section  of 
canal  excavated  by  the  drag-line  machine  has  a  bottom  width 
of  26  feet,  a  water  depth  of  7.3  feet,  and  a  normal  depth  to  top 
of  banks  of  11.3  feet.  In  each  case  the  total  cross-sectional  area 
of  the  finished  canal  is  about  double  that  of  the  original  cross- 
section. 

Drops,  Culverts,  and  Turnouts. — The  enlargement  and  im- 
provement of  the  main  canal  involved,  besides  the  excavation, 
the  construction  of  numerous  concrete  drops,  culverts  and  turn- 
outs to  provide  for  the  larger  quantities  of  water  to  be  carried 
and  to  correct  defects  in  the  original  design  of  the  canal. 

The  velocities  in  the  canal  as  originally  constructed  were  in 
many  places  too  high  even  for  the  then  designed  capacity;  a 
number  of  wooden  checks  had  been  constructed  in  the  canal 
to  correct  this  and  to  hold  the  water  up  to  the  higher  turnouts, 


366  YAKIMA   PROJECT,    WASHINGTON 

but  these  all  required  replacing.  The  enlarged  canal  also  re- 
quired less  grade  for  given  velocities,  which  made  necessary  the 
taking  up  of  the  excess  grade  in  vertical  drops  at  various  points. 
Twenty-five  such  structures  were  built,  in  which  the  drop  in  the 
water  surface  varied  from  0.5  to  2.25  feet.  Twenty-two  of  these 
structures  are  of  similar  construction,  the  other  three  being 
adjuncts  of  turnout  structures  for  main  laterals  and  wasteways. 

The  design  of  these  structures  is  simple,  consisting  of  gravity 
abutments  32  feet  between  faces,  on  either  side  of  the  canal, 
with  low  walls  and  a  check  basin  2  feet  deep  between.  The 
check  basin  is  divided  into  five  bays  by  concrete  piers,  on  the 
top  of  which  are  anchored  removable  structural-steel  brackets 
with  stop-plank  grooves.  The  water  at  most  of  these  drops  has 
a  depth  at  full  capacity  of  8  feet.  The  drops  were  built  before 
the  canal  was  enlarged  and  the  steel  brackets  were  made  remov- 
able to  allow  the  passage  of  the  dredge  used  for  excavating. 

Numerous  culverts  of  various  sizes  were  built  under  the 
canal  to  pass  drainage  water.  The  canal  had  been  previously 
constructed  with  only  a  few  small  pipes  at  various  points,  but 
experience  had  with  large  flows  of  drainage  water  from  the  hills 
above  and  serious  breaks  in  the  lower  banks  resulting  therefrom 
made  imperative  the  construction  of  culverts.  The  smallest 
of  the  culverts  constructed  is  designed  to  discharge  100  cubic 
feet  per  second  and  the  largest  800  cubic  feet  per  second.  Since 
their  construction  no  further  trouble  has  been  had  from  drainage 
water.  The  smallest  culvert  has  a  single  rectangular  barrel  of 
reinforced  concrete,  2J/£  X  3  feet  in  cross-section,  with  the  usual 
wing  and  cut-off  walls  at  the  ends.  The  largest  culvert  consists 
of  three  barrels,  each  3^  X  6  feet  in  cross-section. 

The  turnouts  for  laterals  in  the  old  canal  were  all  of  wooden 
construction  and  required  renewal.  In  many  cases  also  they 
had  to  be  larger  to  supply  increased  areas  to  be  supplied.  The 
capacity  of  these  structures  varies  from  about  1  cubic  foot  per 
second  for  the  smallest  to  about  180  cubic  feet  per  second  for  the 
largest.  The  smaller  structures  have  concrete  pipes  through  the 
bank  with  simple  cast-iron  or  structural-steel  gates.  All  turnouts 
are  supplied  with  Cippoletti  weirs  for  measuring  the  water.  The 
larger  structures  generally  have  rectangular  barrels  with  com- 
mon cast-iron  slide-gates  with  hand-operating  mechanism.  The 
180-second-foot  turnout  is  so  located  that  water-power  can  be 


ZILLAH   WASTEWAY  367 

obtained  for  operating  a  small  turbine,  the  power  of  which  is 
used  for  operating  the  gates. 

Wasteways. — There  is  not  a  single  well-defined  natural  drain- 
age channel  crossing  the  path  of  the  main  canal  in  its  whole 
length  of  about  60  miles.  The  problem  of  providing  necessary 
wasteways  for  purposes  of  regulation  and  for  emptying  the  canal 
quickly  in  cases  of  emergency  was  consequently  a  very  difficult 
one.  At  Zillah,  about  17  miles  from  the  diversion  works,  the 
canal  approaches  to  within  2,200  feet  of  the  Yakima  River,  thus 
making  a  favorable  site  for  a  wasteway,  although  an  artificial 
channel  had  to  be  constructed  from  the  canal  to  the  river.  The 
other  diverts  from  the  canal  at  a  point  about  37  miles  from  the 
diversion.  This  wasteway  traverses  the  widest  part  of  the  proj- 
ect, and  in  that  respect  the  location  is  very  unfavorable.  How- 
ever, the  territory  through  which  the  wasteway  channel  passes 
was  in  great  need  of  a  mam  drain,  and  this  wasteway  was  there- 
fore constructed  to  serve  the  purposes  of  a  wasteway  for  relieving 
the  main  canal  and  also  as  the  main  drain  for  carrying  the  seep- 
age water  from  the  tributary  lands  to  the  river.  This  channel  is 
called  the  Sulphur  Creek  wasteway,  and  is  artificial  throughout. 

The  Zillah  wasteway  has  a  drop  of  about  120  feet  from  the 
water  surface  in  the  canal  to  the  water  surface  in  the  river,  the 
horizontal  distance  being  3,200  feet.  The  structure  consists  of 
the  headworks,  about  820  feet  of  trapezoidal  channel  with  a 
6-inch  concrete  lining,  a  5  X  6-foot  concrete  cut  and  cover  sec- 
tion 500  feet  long,  a  6  X  7-foot  wooden  flume  700  feet  long,  at 
the  end  of  which  the  water  discharges  into  the  river.  The  head- 
works  structure  consists  of  a  large  drop  chamber  in  the  main 
canal,  approximately  20  feet  long  by  50  feet  wide,  with  an  aver- 
age depth  of  8  feet,  the  depth  of  the  chamber  being  variable 
on  account  of  the  slope  toward  the  wasteway  gates.  On  the 
up-stream  side  of  this  chamber  and  perpendicular  to  the  center 
line  of  the  main  canal  is  a  weir  wall  48  feet  long,  having  its  crest 
approximately  4  feet  above  the  bottom  of  the  canal  and  being 
divided  into  8  bays  by  steel  brackets  located  6  feet  apart  and 
anchored  to  piers  back  of  the  weir  wall.  Each  of  these  brackets 
has  a  set  of  stop-plank  grooves  on  the  up-stream  face.  The  down- 
stream wall  is  an  unobstructed  wall  about  2  feet  lower  than  the 
up-stream  wall.  The  water  is  discharged  into  the  wasteway 
through  four  4X5  gate  openings,  the  flow  being  regulated  by 


368  YAKIMA   PROJECT,    WASHINGTON 

cast-iron  gates  operated  by  hydraulic  power.  All  four  gates  are 
operated  from  a  line  shaft  actuated  by  a  9-inch  water  turbine 
located  in  a  4  X  4-foot  concrete  penstock  at  one  end  of  the  bulk- 
head wall  in  which  the  gates  are  located.  The  wasteway  channel 
is  about  15  feet  lower  than  the  canal,  which  fall  is  made  use  of 
for  operating  the  turbine. 

The  wasteway  is  designed  to  carry  the  full  capacity  of  the 
canal,  which,  at  this  point,  is  about  1,000  cubic  feet  per  second. 
The  velocity  through  the  gates  when  the  full  capacity  is  flowing 
is  approximately  13  feet  per  second,  and  the  slope  of  the  dis- 
charge channel  is  such  that  this  velocity  is  increased  to  about 
35  feet  per  second  at  the  intake  of  the  covered  concrete  section, 
and  before  reaching  the  river  the  water  acquires  an  average 
velocity  of  about  40  feet  per  second.  These  velocities  are  based 
on  a  value  of  "n"  in  Kutter's  formula  of  .013  for  concrete  and 
.012  for  the  wooden  channel.  Observations  made  on  the  flow 
through  this  channel  since  the  construction  was  completed  indi- 
cate that  these  velocities  may  be  considerably  exceeded.  This 
wasteway  discharges  more  or  less  water  during  the  greater  part 
of  each  irrigation  season,  and  after  five  years  of  use  no  particular 
wear  on  the  concrete  or  wood  portion  of  the  structure  has  been 
noticed  due  to  the  high  velocities. 

The  Sulphur  Creek  wasteway  consists  of  the  headworks,  about 
1  mile  of  segmental  concrete-lined  channel,  and  about  7  miles  of 
earth  canal  with  concrete  drops  to  take  up  excess  grade.  The 
headworks  are  a  reinforced  concrete  structure  similar  to  that  of 
the  Zillah  wasteway,  the  only  essential  difference  being  that  the 
headworks  of  the  Sulphur  Creek  wasteway  leave  the  canal  at  an 
angle  of  approximately  135  degrees,  while  those  of  the  Zillah  waste- 
way  leave  the  canal  at  right  angles.  The  capacity  of  this  structure 
is  500  cubic  feet  per  second.  The  discharge  into  the  wasteway 
is  through  three  4X4  gate  openings  regulated  by  cast-iron  gates 
which  are  operated  by  a  water  turbine  with  mechanism  similar 
to  that  of  the  Zillah  wasteway.  After  passing  the  gates  the 
water  discharges  through  three  4X4  concrete  tubes  for  a  dis- 
tance of  52  feet,  where  a  transition  occurs  in  the  next  38  feet  to 
a  trapezoidal  section  having  a  7-foot  bottom  width  and  5-foot 
6-inch  depth,  and  1  to  1  side  slopes.  The  slope  of  the  channel 
from  this  point  on  is  such  as  to  accelerate  the  velocity  of  the 
water,  which  is  kept  at  a  uniform  depth  of  4  feet,  by  gradually 


370  YAKIMA   PROJECT,    WASHINGTON 

contracting  the  bottom,  the  side  slopes  remaining  the  same. 
This  gradual  contraction  continues  for  a  distance  of  310  feet,  at 
which  point  a  warped  section  60  feet  long  is  introduced,  which 
changes  the  channel  from  a  trapezoidal  section  to  a  semicircular 
section  having  a  radius  of  4  feet.  The  semicircular  section  runs 
from  this  point  to  the  end,  a  distance  of  4,900  feet.  The  velocity 
of  discharge  through  the  gate  at  the  intake  is  10  feet  per  second, 
and  this  gradually  increases  down  to  the  circular  section,  in  which 
the  average  velocity  is  22  feet  per  second. 

Upon  entering  the  unlined  channel  it  was  necessary  that  this 
velocity  be  decreased  to  about  2.5  feet  per  second,  and  to  accom- 
plish this  a  rather  unusual  structure  was  constructed  at  the  end 
of  the  lined  channel.  This  structure  is  of  concrete,  rectangular 
in  plan,  having  inside  dimensions  of  14  X  18  X  18  feet  high,  with 
walls  and  floors  18  inches  thick.  The  14-foot  end  walls  are  solid 
and  the  two  side  walls  each  have  12^  X  4-foot  rectangular  open- 
ings through  which  the  water  coming  into  the  end  of  the  box 
near  the  top  discharges  outward  into  the  unlined  channel.  In 
passing  through  this  structure  the  water  is  turned  through  prac- 
tically three  right  angles,  and  it  has  been  found  that  this  struc- 
ture accomplishes  its  purpose  very  satisfactorily,  the  water  from 
the  check  basin  flowing  down  the  unlined  canal  in  a  very  quiet 
condition. 

For  the  next  7  miles  the  channel  is  in  earth,  it  has  no  lining 
except  at  the  bottom,  which  is  a  timber  lining  having  2  to  1  side 
slopes  intersecting  at  the  lowest  point  and  running  up  to  a  width 
of  8  feet  at  the  top,  with  1-foot  vertical  walls  on  the  sides  and 
the  necessary  loading  planks  extending  into  the  bank.  The 
earth  channel  has  !}/£  to  1  side  slopes,  but  it  was  found  necessary 
to  vary  these  at  some  points  on  account  of  the  unstable  condi- 
tion of  the  material.  When  only  drainage  water  is  flowing  in 
the  channel  the  water  does  not  rise  above  the  wood  lining,  but 
when  the  channel  is  used  as  a  wasteway  for  the  full  discharge  of 
500  cubic  feet  per  second  the  water  flows  at  a  depth  of  about  8 
feet,  and  the  wooden  lining  is  then  entirely  submerged.  There 
are  17  concrete  drop  structures  in  this  channel  through  which 
the  water  surface  is  dropped  through  various  heights  from  2J4 
to  5J/-2  feet.  The  drop  structures  are  of  somewhat  unusual  design, 
the  unusual  parts  being  the  upper  weir  wall,  which  was  made 
in  the  form  of  a  half  hexagon.  The  reason  for  the  adoption  of 


PRESSURE   PIPES  371 

this  type  of  wall  for  the  upper  weir  was  to  get  additional  length 
without  extending  the  entire  structure,  and  further,  that  with  water 
coming  into  the  drop  basin  from  three  directions  its  dynamic  force 
is  dissipated  more  effectually.  The  abutments  are  reinforced-con- 
crete  slabs  supported  at  the  bottom  by  the  floor  of  the  drop 
basin  and  at  the  top  by  a  pair  of  12  X  20-inch  beams  running 
between  the  abutments  with  a  floor  over  the  top  to  serve  as  a 
foot-walk.  The  drop  basin  has  a  depth  below  the  top  of  the 
down-stream  weir  walls  equal  to  the  height  of  the  drop.  When 
only  drainage  water  is  flowing  it  does  not  pass  over  the  top  of 
this  weir  wall,  but  orifices  at  the  level  of  the  bottom  of  the  wood- 
lined  channel  are  cut  through  the  weir  wall  to  pass  this  drainage 
water.  The  cross-section  and  the  grade  of  the  channel  were 
adjusted  in  such  a  manner  that  the  water  flows  with  a  cleansing 
velocity  when  only  drainage  water  is  flowing  in  the  wooden  lin- 
ing and  will  have  a  velocity  not  exceeding  3  feet  per  second  when 
the  full  discharge  of  the  wasteway  is  flowing. 

Inverted  Siphons. — Two  inverted  siphons  or  pressure  pipes 
were  constructed  across  the  Yakima  River  for  the  purpose  of  sup- 
plying water  for  lands  on  the  south  side  of  this  stream.  The 
Mabton  pipe  crosses  the  river  at  a  point  about  5  miles  east  of  the 
town  of  Mabton  and  supplies  water  for  about  9,000  acres  of  land. 
The  Prosser  pipe  crosses  the  river  at  the  town  of  Prosser  and 
supplies  water  for  about  2,500  acres.  These  pipes  are  very 
similar  in  construction,  the  distinguishing  difference  being  the 
size.  Each  consists  of  short  lengths  of  concrete  pipe  at  the 
upper  and  lower  ends  with  wood-stave  pipe  between.  The  pur- 
pose of  this  form  of  construction  was  to  have  the  wood  pipe  at 
all  points  at  such  a  distance  below  the  hydraulic  grade  line  that 
there  would  always  be  at  least  20  feet  head  on  the  wood,  in  order 
to  keep  it  continuously  saturated. 

The  water  for  the  Mabton  pipe  is  supplied  from  the  main 
canal  through  a  feed  canal  about  8,000  feet  long.  A  large  portion 
of  this  channel  is  in  a  deep  cut,  and  the  material  through  which 
it  passes  is  coarse  gravel.  Considerable  difficulty  was  encountered 
when  the  water  was  first  turned  in  for  priming;  at  first  a  flow 
of  about  30  second-feet  entirely  disappeared  from  the  bottom 
and  sides  of  the  channel,  but  after  about  three  weeks  of  pud- 
dling the  seepage  was  reduced  to  an  insignificant  amount.  Meas- 
uring weirs  were  maintained  at  either  end  of  the  canal  and  ac- 


PRESSURE   PIPES  373 

curate  measurements  were  kept  of  the  seepage  losses  until  the 
difference  in  the  measurements  was  practically  nothing. 

The  pressure  pipe  consists  of  3,000  feet  of  54-inch  concrete 
pipe  at  the  upper  end,  100  linear  feet  of  54-inch  concrete  pipe  at 
the  lower  end,  1,500  linear  feet  of  48-inch  wood-stave  pipe  in  the 
lowest  part  of  the  profile  where  it  crosses  the  river,  and  11,000 
linear  feet  of  55-inch  wood-stave  pipe  forming  the  principal  portion 
of  the  siphon. 

The  concrete  pipe  has  a  shell  thickness  of  3^  inches  and  is 
reinforced  with  5/16-inch  diameter  wire  wound  in  a  helical  coil 
and  spaced  in  accordance  with  the  head.  The  greatest  spacing 
is  4  inches  and  the  smallest  1^  inches.  The  pipe  was  manu- 
factured in  a  yard  in  sections  5  feet  long  with  a  l^-inch  tenon 
at  either  end  for  the  reception  of  connecting  collars;  these  col- 
lars were  also  made  in  sections  in  the  yard  and  were  grouted 
on  the  pipe  in  the  trench.  The  pipe  is  laid  with  the  top  about 
2  feet  underground.  After  the  entire  pipe  had  been  laid,  the 
inside  surface  was  finished  off  with  two  coats  of  neat  cement 
wash,  which  formed  a  very  smooth  and  water-tight  interior. 

There  are  two  sections  of  55-inch  pipe,  one  on  either  side 
of  the  river.  The  crossing  under  the  river  and  for  a  short  dis- 
tance up  the  slope  on  either  side  was  made  with  48-inch  pipe, 
the  total  length  of  this  pipe  being  1,500  feet.  The  portion  of 
the  pipe  under  the  river  is  under  a  head  of  about  170  feet,  and 
it  was  found  more  economical  with  a  given  total  loss  of  head 
to  make  the  portion  under  the  river  of  smaller  pipe  and  make 
the  remainder  correspondingly  larger  than  it  would  have  been 
to  use  a  uniform  diameter  throughout.  The  staves  in  both  the 
55-inch  and  48-inch  pipes  were  2}/2  inches  thick  and  5^  inches 
wide  through  the  center.  All  bands  were  %  inch  in  diameter, 
and  two  shoes  were  used  for  each  band.  On  the  north  side  of 
the  river  the  pipe  passes  through  cultivated  fields,  and  it  was 
necessary  to  bury  it  with  the  top  approximately  2  feet  under- 
ground. On  the  south  side  of  the  river  the  pipe  passes  through 
a  body  of  non-irrigable  land  and  is  laid  largely  on  rockfill  and 
partly  through  rock-cut.  Where  exposed  the  pipe  after  comple- 
tion was  painted  with  a  red  oxide  and  linseed  oil  paint. 

The  width  of  the  river  where  the  pipe  crosses  it  is  about 
500  feet.  The  pipe  was  placed  with  its  top  about  3  feet  below  the 
bed;  it  is  held  in  this  position  by  a  3  X  12-inch  yoke  over  the 


374  YAKIMA   PROJECT,   WASHINGTON 

top  and  bottom  of  the  pipe  placed  at  intervals  of  10  feet  and 
fastened  at  either  end  to  round  piling,  which  was  used  in  the 
construction  of  the  cofferdam  for  opening  up  the  trench.  The 
principal  reason  for  building  this  pipe  under  the  bed  of  the  river 
rather  than  using  a  bridge  crossing  was  the  absence  of  suitable 
foundation  for  piers  for  such  a  bridge.  This  method  also  ap- 
peared to  be  cheaper  in  first  cost  and  more  permanent  construc- 
tion, as  the  wood  in  the  pipe  in  this  position  would  have  a  very 
long  life  and  the  life  of  the  pipe  would  be  determined  by  that 
of  the  metal  parts. 

Subsequent  experience  disclosed  some  unlooked-for  difficulties : 
Two  years  after  the  pipe  was  finished  several  leaks  developed  in  the 
pipe  under  the  river-bed,  which,  upon  examination,  were  found  to 
have  been  caused  by  the  cutting  in  two  of  several  bands  followed 
by  the  breaking  off  of  the  butt  ends  of  the  staves.  The  bands 
were  evidently  cut  through  by  a  sand-blast  action  from  the  high 
velocities  of  discharge  of  small  leaks.  The  pressure  of  the 
water  at  this  point  is  about  170  feet  and  the  resulting  velocity 
was  evidently  sufficient  to  create  a  very  effective  cutting  action 
on  the  bands.  The  pipe  was  in  operation  at  the  time  the  leak 
occurred  and  the  services  of  a  diver  were  necessary  to  ascertain 
the  cause  of  the  leak  and  to  make  repairs.  The  repairs  consisted 
of  removing  the  broken  bands  and  placing  steel  plates  on  the 
inside  and  outside  of  pipe  and  placing  new  bands  around  the 
outside.  Since  the  occurrence  of  the  above-mentioned  breaks, 
the  pipe  is  inspected  periodically  from  the  inside  and  incipient 
leaks  are  repaired  before  they  approach  a  dangerous  size. 

On  the  south  side  of  the  river,  where  the  pipe  is  exposed  and 
painted,  it  is,  in  general,  in  excellent  condition  after  six  years 
of  use.  On  the  north  side  of  the  river,  however,  where  it  is 
buried  underground  in  porous  soil,  rapid  deterioration  of  the 
staves  has  taken  place,  and  it  has  been  found  necessary  to  re- 
place a  considerable  portion  of  this  pipe.  The  trouble  here  is 
that,  although  the  pipe  is  kept  full  of  water  throughout  the  year, 
the  seepage  of  the  water  and  evaporation  of  same  away  from 
the  pipe  through  the  porous  soil  are  so  rapid  that  the  staves  are 
not  kept  thoroughly  saturated  at  all  tunes,  resulting  hi  very 
rapid  decay. 

The  Prosser  pipe  is  supplied  with  water  from  the  main  canal 
through  a  feed  canal  about  l/2  mile  in  length,  for  the  purposes 


376  YAKIMA   PROJECT,   WASHINGTON 

of  which  a  natural  drainage  channel  is  used,  with  the  exception 
of  about  400  feet  in  length,  which  is  an  artificial  earth  channel. 
The  pressure  pipe  consists  of  about  2,850  feet  of  concrete  pipe 
at  the  upper  end,  275  feet  of  concrete  pipe  at  the  lower  end,  and 
7,500  feet  of  wood-stave  pipe  between.  The  concrete  pipe  has 
an  inside  diameter  of  30^  inches  and  shell  thickness  of  2^  inches. 
The  pipe  was  built  in  sections  6  feet  long  in  a  central  yard.  Each 
section  weighed  about  1,500  pounds.  These  sections  were  hauled 
to  the  line  and  were  there  connected  by  means  of  segmental  col- 
lars grouted  into  place,  these  collars  also  having  been  built  in 
the  central  yard.  The  maximum  head  on  the  pipe  is  about  50 
feet.  The  reinforcement  consisted  of  No.  4  wire  wound  into 
helical  coils  on  a  reel,  and  three  different  spacings  were  used, 
viz.,  1%,  23^,  and  3^  inches. 

The  wood  pipe  has  an  inside  diameter  of  31  inches.  The  staves 
are  2  inches  thick  and  the  bands  Yi  mcn  m  diameter  with  malle- 
able iron  shoes.  This  pipe  is  carried  across  the  river  on  a  steel 
bridge  consisting  of  two  132-foot  steel  Warren  girder  spans,  one 
180-foot  steel  Warren  girder  span,  and  one  50-foot  I-beam  span. 
The  bed  of  the  river  at  this  point  is  solid  rock,  with  the  exception 
of  a  short  distance  on  the  south  side,  which  is  very  hard,  cemented 
gravel.  The  nature  of  this  foundation  made  it  much  cheaper 
to  build  a  crossing  with  a  bridge  for  the  piers,  for  which  there 
was  excellent  foundation,  rather  than  to  excavate  a  trench  in 
the  solid  rock  of  the  river-bed  for  imbedding  the  pipe.  The 
approaches  to  a  pipe  built  under  the  river-bed  would  also  have 
been  in  very  deep  rock-cut,  and  consequently  very  expensive. 
The  experience  with  the  Mabton  pipe  previously  described  would 
seem  to  indicate  that  the  overhead  crossing  by  means  of  a  bridge 
is  in  any  case  much  the  better  practice  unless  such  type  of  cross- 
ing is  very  much  more  expensive.  The  advantage  of  having  a 
pipe  of  this  kind  built  in  the  open  and  capable  of  being  easily 
and  frequently  inspected  is  obvious. 

The  Yakima  Project  was  planned  and  largely  built  under 
the  general  direction  of  D.  C.  Henny  as  Supervising  Engineer. 
Bumping  Lake  and  Kachess  Dams  were  built  by  E.  H.  Baldwin, 
and  Keechelus  Dam  by  C.  E.  Crownover.  The  canal  systems 
were  built  under  the  direction  first  of  Joseph  Jacobs  and  later 
of  Chas.  H.  Swigart,  as  Project  Engineers. 


CHAPTER  XXII 
SHOSHONE  PROJECT 

DESCRIPTION 

The  Shoshone  River  rises  in  the  interior  of  Wyoming,  and 
runs  northeasterly  into  the  Big  Horn.  Its  headwaters  drain 
the  eastern  part  of  Yellowstone  National  Park,  at  altitudes  be- 
tween 7,000  and  10,000  feet. 

About  60  miles  from  its  head  it  emerges  from  the  mountains 
into  a  small  valley,  where  it  is  joined  by  its  principal  tributary, 
called  the  South  Fork,  and  then  cuts  through  an  abrupt  granite 
spur,  beyond  which  the  country  opens  out  in  the  form  of  a  ter- 
raced plain,  through  which  a  canyon  .conducts  the  river  to  its 
mouth  at  the  Big  Horn. 

The  granite  gorge  above  mentioned,  occurring  just  below  an 
open  valley,  forms  a  site  for  a  dam  capable  of  impounding  a 
large  amount  of  water. 

The  Shoshone  Project  provides  for  the  storage  of  water  at  the 
site  mentioned,  which  is  about  8  miles  from  the  town  of  Cody,  and 
its  diversion  at  various  points  to  irrigate  the  bench  land  on  both 
sides  of  the  river. 

Early  irrigation  development  from  this  river  was  accom- 
plished by  the  diversion  of  the  waters  of  the  south  fork  of  the 
Shoshone,  from  which  the  lands  on  Irma  Flat  and  those  around 
Cody  were  irrigated,  and  the  waters  of  the  main  stream  were 
diverted  and  applied  in  the  vicinity  of  Lovell,  Byrum,  and  Kane, 
Wyoming.  These  uses  were  sufficient  to  practically  exhaust  the 
natural  flow  of  the  river  in  the  late  summer  of  low-water  years, 
and  it  was  thus  impossible  to  inaugurate  any  large  extension  of 
irrigation  without  storage.  Investigations  were  therefore  made 
with  a  view  to  the  construction  of  a  storage  reservoir  to  impound 
the  winter  flow  and  the  surplus  discharge  of  May  and  June  during 
the  melting  of  the  mountain  snows. 

377 


378 


SHOSHONE    PROJECT 


SHOSHONE   RESERVOIR 

At  the  entrance  of  the  gorge  about  8  miles  above  Cody,  a 
site  was  selected  where  a  high  masonry  dam  would  form  a  reser- 
voir covering  a  large  flat  above  the  gorge  and  backing  water  up 
both  the  north  and  south  forks  of  the  river.  Surveys  and  borings 
were  made,  and  a  dam  was  designed  on  a  radius  of  150  feet,  to 
reach  a  height  of  240  feet  above  the  river-bed,  with  a  spillway 
10  feet  lower.  The  reservoir  formed  by  this  dam  has  the  following 
dimensions: 

AREA  AND  CAPACITY  OF  SHOSHONE  RESERVOIR 


Elevation, 
Feet  above  Sea 

Area, 
Acres 

Added 
Capacity, 
Acre-Feet 

Capacity, 
Acre-Feet 

5,140. 

2 

5,160. 

21 

194 

295 

5,180. 

121 

902 

1,598 

5,200. 

316 

2,498 

5,168 

5,220. 

666 

5,646 

15,161 

5,240. 

1,181 

10,336 

33,256 

5,260. 

1,785 

16,214 

62,666 

5,280. 

2,444 

22,762 

104,898 

5,300. 

3,363 

31,161 

162,623 

5,320. 

4,317 

40686 

239  224 

5,340. 

5,377 

51  112 

336  150 

5,360 

6  604 

63  110 

456  000* 

5,380 

g'ooo 

144  000 

fiflO  000 

5,400. 

9  500 

160  000 

7fiO  OOO 

*  Spillway. 

Access  to  the  Shoshone  Canyon  was  made  possible  by  a  road 
started  in  the  spring  of  1904  as  a  rough  trail  over  which  to  trans- 
port drilling  machinery.  This  was  afterward  improved  to  the 
condition  of  a  good  wagon  road,  suitable  for  freighting.  Three 
tunnels  were  built  for  the  road  between  Cody  and  the  dam  site, 
and  the  site  itself  was  passed  by  a  tunnel  above  the  left  abut- 
ment. This  road  was  continued  westward  up  the  north  fork 
of  the  Shoshone  River  to  serve  as  a  road  to  Yellowstone  Park 
and  to  replace  the  road  formerly  serving  this  purpose  and  sub- 
merged by  the  reservoir.  The  precipitous  location  necessitated 
several  tunnels  on  this  extension  also. 

Borings  at  the  dam  site  were  begun  in  July,  1904,  and  finished 
in  June,  1905.  They  indicated  a  great  mass  of  boulders,  gravel, 
and  sand  extending  to  depths  of  60  to  90  feet  below  the  river-bed. 


SHOSHONE   DAM 


379 


Shoshone  Dam. — The  design  of  the  Shoshone  Dam  was  closely 
related  to  that  of  the  Pathfinder  Dam.  Both  were  high  structures 
in  narrow  granite  gorges.  Studies  on  this  design  were  'made  by 
George  Y.  Wisner,  consulting  engineer,  and  by  John  H.  Quinton, 
also  a  consulting  engineer,  and  the  design  adopted  was  the  result 
of  a  long  consultation  on  this  problem  by  a  board  appointed  for 


CROSS  SECTION  ELEVATION 

FIG.  124. — Section  and  Elevation  of  Shoshone  Dam,  Wyoming. 

the  purpose,  and  represents  a  compromise  of  several  different 
ideas.  The  author  was  one  member  of  the  Board  who  favored 
a  lighter  section. 

The  design  adopted  provides  for  a  top  thickness  of  10  feet, 
with  a  batter  to  stream-bed  of  15  per  cent  on  the  reservoir  face 
and  of  25  per  cent  on  the  down-stream  face.  Both  faces  were 
made  vertical  below  stream-bed.  The  axis  was  curved  to  a  radius 
of  150  feet,  forming  an  arch  upon  which  the  dam  depends  for 
stability.  No  natural  deposits  of  sand  or  gravel  were  available 
near  the  dam  site,  and  the  specifications  required  both  to  be 


380  SHOSHOXE    PROJECT 

manufactured  of  good,  sound  granite.  The  structure  required 
was  of  concrete  of  the  proportions  1 :  2^:  5,  in  which  sound  stones 
or  "plum  rock"  were  to  be  imbedded,  weighing  from  25  to  200 
pounds,  to  at  least  25  per  cent  of  the  total  volume. 

A  tunnel  500  feet  in  length,  10  feet  square  in  section,  was 
provided  through  the  right  abutment  for  the  primary  purpose  of 
diverting  the  river  during  construction,  and  afterward  employed 
for  drawing  water  from  the  reservoir.  A  tunnel  20  feet  square, 
on  a  10  per  cent  grade,  entered  by  a  concrete  lip  west  of  the  dam, 
was  designed  to  serve  as  a  spillway. 

The  construction  of  these  works  was  let  by  contract,  and 
work  was  started  in  October,  1905.  The  diversion  tunnel  was 
excavated,  and  preparations  were  made  for  diverting  the  river 
into  it  by  building  a  diversion  dam  and  a  wooden  flume  to  con- 
nect the  dam  with  the  diversion  tunnel. 

Work  on  the  tunnel  was  stopped  by  high  water  in  May,  and 
on  June  13  the  largest  flood  of  the  season  brought  down  large 
numbers  of  saw  logs  which  greatly  injured  the  diversion  dam 
and  destroyed  the  flume.  The  water  floated  it  from  place  and 
the  logs  battered  it  into  wreckage. 

Financial  difficulties  prevented  the  contractor  from  resuming 
work,  and  in  August  the  contract  was  suspended  and  a  new 
contract  executed  by  the  bonding  company  which  was  surety 
for  the  failing  contractor.  The  contract  was  later  sublet  by  the 
bonding  company. 

Two  cableways  were  installed,  mounted  on  one  tower  below 
the  dam,  and  on  two  towers  above  the  dam,  forming  a  letter  V. 
These  were  used  in  excavating  material  from  the  river-bed,  and 
also  for  handling  material  to  go  into  the  dam. 

One  No.  5  and  one  No.  7^  rock  crusher  were  installed,  and 
three  sets  of  sand-rolls  and  one  Jeffry  pulverizer  were  used  for 
making  sand.  Concrete  was  mixed  with  two  No.  5  Smith  mixers. 

A  steel  truss  bridge  was  built  across  the  gorge  from  cliff  to 
cliff  about  40  feet  above  the  river-bed  and  a  little  up-stream  from 
the  dam.  A  track  was  provided  on  this  bridge  to  accommodate 
cars  loaded  with  concrete  and  other  materials. 

Three  large  derricks  were  also  installed  for  handling  materials; 
two  of  them  having  80-foot  booms  were  located  at  the  two  abut- 
ments high  enough  to  command  the  dam  to  completion,  and  one 
with  a  60-foot  boom  a  little  lower  on  the  left  cliff,  for  use  on 


SHOSHONE    DAM 


381 


the  lower  portions  of  the  dam.     The  larger  derrick  on  the  left 

abutment  placed  over  35,000  cubic  yards  of  material  in  the  dam. 

In  the  spring  of  1907,  the  new  contractor  undertook  repairs 


FIG.  125. — Foundation  and  Abutment  of  Shoshone  Dam. 

on  the  temporary  diversion  dam  and  work  was  resumed  on  the 
lining  of  the  diversion  tunnel. 

The  diversion  dam  was  completed  and  a  new  flume  connected 
it  with  the  tunnel  just  before  the  advent  of  high  water  in  May. 
The  new  flume  was  well  ballasted  and  withstood  the  high  water 
perfectly.  Early  in  July,  the  flow  of  the  river  reached  a  dis- 
charge of  14,000  cubic  feet  per  second  and  broke  a  saw-log  boom 
some  miles  above,  releasing  a  large  number  of  saw  logs  which 
wrecked  the  diversion  dam  a  second  time  on  July  5. 


382 


SHOSHONE    PROJECT 


After  the  high-water  season,  the  temporary  dam  was  rebuilt, 
but  the  time  consumed  thereby  delayed  the  excavation  of  foun- 
dation into  the  winter.  Concreting  in  the  base  of  the  dam  was 
begun  March  30,  but  on  April  11  the  pit  was  flooded  by  a  freshet 
and  the  work  was  stopped.  About  the  end  of  April,  the  flow  de- 


FIG.  126.— View  of  Shoshone  Dam,  Wyoming. 


clined,  the  pit  was  pumped  out,  and  concreting  resumed;  but  on 
May  2  the  river  again  rose  and  work  was  stopped  for  the  flood 
season. 

When  the  river  was  again  diverted,  it  was  found  that  the 
foundation  pit  had  been  filled  with  river  gravel,  sand,  and  mud, 
and  its  second  excavation  was  necessary.  This  was  begun  on 
August  28,  1908,  and  was  prosecuted  so  vigorously  that  concret- 
ing began  one  month  later,  and  by  the  end  of  November  the 
entire  base  of  the  dam  was  well  above  the  river-bed.  The  advent 
of  severe  cold  weather  and  the  exhaustion  of  accumulated  stocks 
of  sand,  gravel,  and  plum  rock  caused  the  suspension  of  opera- 
tions for  the  winter.  The  extreme  hardness  of  the  granite  rock 


SHOSHONE    DAM  38$ 

made  the  manufacture  of  suitable  sand  extremely  difficult  and 
subject  to  interruptions  by  the  wear  and  breakage  of  machinery. 

The  stock  bins  were  replenished  during  the  winter,  and  con- 
creting was  resumed  on  March  16,  1909.  In  two  weeks  the 
wall  was  carried  to  an  elevation  above  the  top  of  the  bridge, 
work  was  suspended  for  the  flood  season,  and  the  summer  floods 
poured  over  the  dam  to  a  maximum  depth  of  17  feet,  without 
injury  thereto. 

Concreting  was  resumed  September  1  and  continued  with 
various  delays  until  the  dam  was  completed  January  16,  1910. 

The  winter  was  of  unprecedented  severity,  and  it  became  nec- 
essary to  protect  the  concrete  from  frost  by  covering  it  with  a 
huge  tent  and  to  heat  the  interior  of  this  with  a  system  of  steam 
pipes.  These,  of  course,  though  indispensable,  greatly  hampered 
the  work  and  made  it  very  expensive. 

Scarcely  less  important  were  the  delays  from  the  chronic 
shortage  of  sand  and  plum  rock.  This  was  largely  due  to  the 
extreme  hardness  of  the  rock,  the  consequent  shortage  of  drill 
steel,  and  the  difficulty  of  maintaining  in  working  order  the 
machinery  for  grinding  the  sand. 

All  of  these  difficulties,  together  with  the  extremely  contracted 
room  for  operations  in  the  narrow  gorge,  the  great  depth  to  foun- 
dation, and  the  large  and  fluctuating  volume  of  water  to  be  han- 
dled, combined  to  make  the  construction  of  the  Shoshone  Dam 
extremely  hazardous,  difficult,  and  expensive. 

The  lowest  outlet  from  the  Shoshone  Reservoir  is  at  eleva- 
tion 5,134  feet  above  sea-level.  It  consists  of  two  cast-iron  pipes, 
each  42  inches  in  diameter,  laid  radially  through  the  dam,  im- 
bedded in  the  concrete  about  low-water  elevation  in  the  river. 
At  the  discharge  end  the  pipes  were  tapered  to  a  diameter  of 
30  inches,  and  each  is  controlled  by  a  pair  of  30-inch  gate-valves. 
The  inverts  of  these  pipes  are  at  elevation  5,134  feet  above  sea- 
level. 

The  tunnel  through  which  the  river  was  diverted  during 
construction  has  an  entrance  sill  at  5,140  feet  elevation.  It  is 
approximately  10  feet  square  and  is  controlled  by  duplicate  sets 
of  three  cast-iron  gates  each  3X7  feet  sliding  on  bronze  faces. 
They  are  operated  from  a  chamber  above  the  tunnel,  reached 
by  an  adit  entering  the  cliff  about  30  feet  below  the  right  abut- 
ment of  the  dam.  The  gages  and  operating  mechanism  are 


384  SHOSHONE    PROJECT 

practically  duplicates  of  those  at  the  Pathfinder  Reservoir  de- 
scribed on  page  185.  The  operation  is  performed  by  oil  pressure 
in  a  cylindrical  tank,  and  the  necessary  power  is  furnished  by  a 
50-horse-power  gasoline  engine.  These  gates  are  intended  to 
operate  under  a  maximum  head  of  about  120  feet.  A  secondary 
tunnel  is  provided  at  elevation  5,233.  It  is  10  feet  square  on  a 
1  per  cent  grade,  and  will  be  controlled  by  balanced  valves  of 
the  Ensign  type. 

CORBETT   DIVERSION 

The  valley  of  the  Shoshone  consists  of  a  series  of  terraces 
rising  higher  and  higher  above  the  bed  of  the  river,  which  flows 
in  a  canyon  cut  in  the  gravels  which  form  the  terraces.  Any  di- 
version from  the  river  therefore  must  be  either  by  means  of  a 
high  dam  or  a  long  tunnel  built  on  a  gradient  less  than  the  gen- 
eral slope  of  the  benches.  There  being  no  suitable  site  for  a 
high  dam  at  the  proper  location,  the  tunnel  method  was  the 
one  adopted. 

Water  released  from  the  Shoshone  Reservoir  flows  down  the 
river  a  distance  of  about  16  miles  to  the  Co'rbett  Diversion  Dam, 
where  it  is  diverted  into  a  tunnel  about  3  miles  in  length,  which 
emerges  into  the  Garland  Canal.  The  Corbett  Diversion  Dam 
is  of  the  hollow  reinforced-concrete  type,  consisting  of  an  in- 
clined deck  resting  on  buttresses.  The  deck  is  30  inches  thick, 
and  inclines  at  an  angle  of  45  degrees.  The  buttresses  are  2 
feet  thick  and  are  spaced  12  feet  apart  in  the  clear.  The  struc- 
ture rests  on  a  platform  of  reinforced  concrete  2  feet  thick,  founded 
on  shale  and  gravel  and  extending  down-stream  a  distance  of 
about  40  feet  from  the  dam.  Three  cut-off  walls  extend  down- 
ward into  the  foundation  under  the  dam. 

The  total  height  of  the  dam,  including  the  base  platform,  is 
18  feet  and  its  length  "between  abutments  400  feet.  The  right 
abutment  joins  an  embankment  450  feet  in  length,  reaching  to 
the  bluff  and  standing  8  feet  above  the  masonry  of  the  dam. 
At  the  left  abutment  are  located  a  sluiceway  and  the  headworks 
controlling  the  entrance  to  the  Corbett  Tunnel. 

No  suitable  sand  was  found  in  the  vicinity  of  the  dam,  and 
it  was  therefore  necessary  to  manufacture  the  same  by  crushing 
cobble-stones  from  the  stream-bed,  which  also  yielded  the  neces- 
sary gravel. 


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386  SHOSHONE   PROJECT 

The  concrete  was  mixed  in  the  proportions  of  1:2^:5,  and 
was  conveyed  from  the  mixer  in  cars  of  ^-cubic-yard  capacity 
drawn  by  horses.  The  abutments  of  the  dam  and  the  sluiceway 
were  built  without  diverting  the  river.  For  the  main  portion  of 
the  dam  it  was  necessary  to  build  a  temporary  dam  of  earth  and 
gravel  from  the  sluiceway  diagonally  up-stream  to  the  opposite 
bank,  and  thus  divert  the  low-water  flow  of  the  river  through 
the  sluiceway. 

These  works  were  constructed  by  contract  in  1906  and  1907. 
The  total  cost  was  $130,125.48,  the  details  of  which  are  given  in 
the  table  on  opposite  page. 

About  12  miles  below  the  Corbett  Tunnel  the  main  canal 
crosses  a  drainage  line  near  Ralston,  and  here  is  found  a  reser- 
voir of  2,100  acre-feet  capacity  to  regulate  the  flow  in  the  main 
canal,  and  it  also  serves  to  furnish  a  domestic  water-supply 
throughout  the  year  to  Ralston  and  Powell. 


DRAINAGE 

There  are  few  large  valleys  of  the  world  that  have  been  irri- 
gated for  any  considerable  time  where  important  seepage  prob- 
lems have  not  developed,  so  that  the  necessity  of  drainage  at 
some  future  time  is  to  be  in  general  anticipated,  whenever  a  large 
irrigation  system  is  undertaken.  It  seemed,  however,  that  the 
Shoshone  Project  was  likely  to  prove  an  exception.  The  irrigable 
lands  have  a  slope  of  about  30  feet  to  the  mile  down  the  valley, 
and  a  slope  toward  the  river  of  from  20  to  50  feet  per  mile,  thus 
affording  ready  escape  for  surface  water.  Most  of  the  lands  are 
underlaid  a  few  feet  below  the  surface  by  coarse  gravel  extending 
to  a  great  depth,  and  the  entire  tract  is  bounded  on  the  south  by 
the  deep  canyon  of  the  Shoshone  River,  thus  seeming  to  furnish 
convenient  discharge  for  subsurface  waters.  Contrary  to  ap- 
pearances, however,  seepage  appeared  soon  after  irrigation  began, 
and  gradually  spread  until  several  thousand  acres  were  more  or 
less  injured  by  ground  water,  and  the  damage  continued  to  spread 
until  drainage  works  were  undertaken.  Altogether  about  $425,000 
has  been  spent  upon  drainage,  a  part  being  open,  but  most  of 
them  being  covered  tile  drains  of  varying  diameters.  The  drains 
have  been  very  effective  in  relieving  the  seepage  conditions  on 
the  project. 


CORBETT    DAM 


387 


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iii 


390  SHOSHONE    PROJECT 

On  the  preceding  page  is  a  table  of  dimensions  and  costs  of 
closed  drains  constructed  to  December  31,  1915. 

The  Shoshone  Project  was  built  under  the  general  direction  of 
H.  N.  Savage  as  Supervising  Engineer.  The  construction  of 
Shoshone  Dam  was  under  the  immediate  direction  of  D.  W.  Cole. 
The  canal  system  and  drainage  works  were  constructed  under 
project  engineers  Jeremiah  Ahern,  C.  P.  Williams,  W.  A.  Stebbins, 
and  J.  T.  Sanford,  in  succession. 


CHAPTER  XXIII 
SETTLEMENT    AND    CULTIVATION 

The  engineering  works  described  are  but  the  means  to  the  end 
contemplated  by  the  Reclamation  Law,  which  is  the  establishment 
of  homes  and  the  production  of  crops.  A  few  pages  on  the  latter 
subjects  may  therefore  be  of  interest. 

The  principal  obstacle  to  the  successful  development  of  large 
and  expensive  irrigation  enterprises  by  private  or  corporate  capital 
is  the  long,  tedious,  and  expensive  period  of  colonization  and  the 
subjugation  of  the  desert  soil  by  the  colonists.  Many  a  good  proj- 
ect has  bankrupted  its  builders  by  the  accumulation  of  interest 
and  maintenance  charges  before  a  sufficient  number  of  settlers 
had  cultivated  the  land  and  brought  it  to  a  point  of  profit.  A 
recognition  of  this  difficulty  was  doubtless  the  reason  for  the 
provision  of  funds  for  the  construction  of  irrigation  works  without 
charging  interest  against  the  home-maker. 

In  the  matter  of  settlement,  the  experience  of  the  Reclamation 
Service  has  been  somewhat  similar  to  that  of  private  investors. 
That  is,  settlement  has  been  quick  in  some  localities  and  slow  in 
others.  Where  settlement  was  slow,  the  Government  project 
had  the  advantage  of  not  having  to  add  interest  to  the  investment. 

The  greatest  embarrassment  suffered  by  the  Government 
projects  regarding  settlement,  however,  arose  from  the  influx  of 
settlers  who  filed  upon  the  land  during  the  period  of  survey, 
before  construction  began  or  the  project  was  even  declared  feasible. 
In  some  cases  the  project  was  not  taken  up  at  all.  In  others, 
part  of  the  lands  settled  were  excluded  owing  to  limitations  of 
water  supply  or  physical  difficulties,  and  in  most  cases  several 
years  elapsed  before  the  completion  of  storage  or  other  heavy 
works  by  which  water  could  be  delivered,  and  the  settler  was  im- 
poverished and  discouraged  in  the  long  waiting  process.  This 
defect  of  the  law  was  remedied  by  an  amendment,  passed  in  1910, 
requiring  the  Secretary  to  exclude  settlers  until  water  could  be 
delivered.  But  this  gave  no  great  relief,  as  all  the  projects  having 
this  trouble  were  already  settled. 

391 


392  SETTLEMENT   AND    CULTIVATION 

In  general,  where  settlement  on  public  land  is  slow,  it  is  the 
aim  to  keep  the  extension  of  the  works  only  moderately  in  advance 
of  settlement,  and  no  great  areas  of  public  land  are  now  open  to 
settlers  on  the  various  projects. 

Difficulties  of  the  Settlers.— The  principal  difficulty  with  which 
the  average  settler  on  the  reclamation  projects  has  to  contend  is 
the  lack  of  sufficient  capital.  In  some  cases  the  settler  may 
originally  have  had  considerable  capital,  but  his  lack  of  experience, 
or  other  misfortune,  has  operated  to  his  disadvantage  until  his 
funds  have  been  practically  exhausted,  and  after  he  has  acquired 
the  necessary  experience  he  is  often  unable  to  recover  his  standing 
for  the  lack  of  the  necessary  capital. 

Some  cases  have  occurred  where  men  of  little  capital  and  no 
experience  have  settled  on  reclamation  projects  and  by  their 
perseverance  and  ability  combined  with  favorable  conditions  have 
succeeded  in  building  up  homes  worth  thousands  of  dollars, 
while  some  of  their  neighbors  similarly  situated,  who  began  with 
considerable  capital  and  perhaps  greater  experience,  have  not 
achieved  equal  success. 

The  cases  of  success  with  little  capital,  however,  are  relatively 
few  and  are  likely  to  be  misleading  if  often  quoted.  In  general, 
the  settler  should  have  from  one  to  three  thousand  dollars  in  order 
to  develop  a  homestead  of  forty  acres  promptly  and  economically, 
and  for  larger  homesteads  larger  capital  is  necessary  for  the  best 
results.  Care,  skill,  industry,  and  perseverance  are  all  equally  as 
necessary  as  capital,  and  without  these  or  any  one  of  these  failure 
is  almost  certain. 

This  lack  of  capital  is  felt  more  acutely  the  larger  the  area 
acquired  or  attempted  to  be  cultivated.  The  instances  of  success 
with  small  capital,  especially  in  the  case  of  inexperienced  settlers, 
are  confined  almost  entirely  to  small  holdings  of  forty  acres  or 
less,  and  perhaps  no  one  circumstance  has  operated  so  strongly  to 
handicap  settlers  in  making  a  success  upon  Government  projects 
as  the  attempt  to  hold  and  improve  too  much  land. 

One  of  the  most  serious  and  far-reaching  handicaps  to  the 
success  of  a  settler  was  the  provision  of  the  law  and  rulings  there- 
under permitting  settlers  to  file  upon  lands  to  be  irrigated,  in  tracts 
of  160  acres,  even  before  the  surveys  were  made  or  decision  reached 
regarding  the  feasibility  of  the  project. 

On  the  projects  that  were  actually  taken  up,  the  public  land 


DIFFICULTIES   OF   SETTLERS  393 

in  many  cases  was  occupied  by  entrymen  who  had  each  filed  upon 
160  acres,  endeavoring  to  hold  a  homestead  during  the  years  of 
survey  and  construction,  which  was  ultimately  delayed  from  lack 
of  funds  or  other  causes.  The  settlers  exhausted  all  their  avail- 
able funds  in  living  expenses  and  when  the  water  was  ready  for 
delivery  were  utterly  unable  to  prepare  the  land  properly  or  to 
install  the  improvements  and  equipment  necessary  for  success  on 
an  irrigated  farm.  In  every  case  the  prospective  value  of  the 
land  with  a  water  right  was  greater  than  the  cost  of  the  water 
right,  so  that  the  settler  became  anxious  to  hold  his  entire  tract 
of  160  acres  or  as  much  thereof  as  possible.  This  pressure  exerted 
upon  the  local  men  and  upon  the  Washington  authorities  through 
Representatives  and  otherwise  led  to  the  establishment  of  farm 
units,  usually  eighty  acres  or  more,  where  half  the  size  would  have 
been  more  appropriate,  and  the  impoverished  settlers  were  bur- 
dened the  first  few  years  with  charges  upon  a  large  area  of  land, 
none  of  which  they  were  able  to  cultivate  properly,  owing  to  lack 
of  preparation  and  of  equipment;  in  short,  they  were  attempting 
the  impossible. 

A  typical  example  is  on  one  project  where  the  average  irrigable 
area  of  the  holdings  is  sixty-five  acres,  while  the  average  cultivated 
area  is  twenty-five  acres.  The  average  farmer  is  thus  struggling 
under  the  dead  load  of  charges  upon  forty  acres,  which  he  is  un- 
able to  use,  but  which  are  burdensome  in  the  matter  of  fencing  and 
otherwise.  Where  a  farmer  has  an  excess  area,  he  is  almost  sure  to 
cultivate  more  land  than  he  can  properly  level  and  provide  with 
irrigating  ditches,  so  that  he  obtains  inferior  results  even  from 
the  acreage  which  he  does  cultivate. 

The  Huntley  Project  in  Montana  is  conspicuously  successful 
so  far  as  individual  prosperity  is  concerned.  This  project  was 
handicapped  by  the  cold  climate,  the  usual  drawbacks  of  refrac- 
tory soil,  and  the  characteristic  desert  difficulties,  but  it  was 
opened  under  a  special  law  which  gave  the  Secretary  wide  dis- 
cretion, and  policies  were  adopted  which  could  not  be  applied  to 
other  projects  owing  to  legal  requirements.  The  size  of  the  farm 
unit  was  in  general  made  forty  acres.  Settlers  were  not  permitted 
upon  the  land  until  the  water  was  ready  for  delivery,  and  when 
settlement  was  invited  each  settler  was  obliged  to  pay  $1  per 
acre  to  the  Indian  tribe  as  partial  payment  for  the  land  and  also 
ten  per  cent  of  the  water  charge  at  time  of  entry. 


394  SETTLEMENT   AND   CULTIVATION 

These  substantial  payments  eliminated  the  impecunious  specu- 
lator; the  settler  was  not  compelled  to  live  for  years  upon  an  arid 
homestead  without  water  and  thus  dissipate  his  means  and  his 
patience,  and  he  was  not  permitted  to  take  more  land  than  was 
necessary  for  his  livelihood.  Thus  were  eliminated  the  three 
principal  causes  of  failure  upon  other  projects. 

The  Shoshone  Project  and  many  other  projects  illustrate  strik- 
ingly the  contrast  between  large  and  small  holdings.  On  those 
projects,  homesteads  near  railroad  stations  are  generally  made 
forty  acres,  while  farther  out  they  contain  eighty  acres  of  irrigable 
land  and  sometimes  more,  up  to  a  limit  of  160  acres.  In  general, 
the  individuals  with  the  small  holdings,  having  less  tax  upon  their 
resources  for  improvements  and  water  charges,  have  been  success- 
ful, while  their  neighbors  similarly  situated,  but  with  larger  hold- 
ings, have  been  unable  with  their  means  to  cultivate  any  larger 
area  of  land  during  the  first  few  years  when  the  struggle  is  on, 
and  have  had  the  additional  burden  of  double  the  water  charges 
and  heavier  costs  for  fencing  and  other  improvements.  The 
results  have  shown  a  larger  percentage  of  success  and  general 
prosperity  upon  the  small  unit. 

Values  Created. — In  general,  it  may  be  said  that  the  material 
values  created  by  the  construction  of  irrigation  works  under  the 
Reclamation  Law  have  been  far  greater  than  the  amount  ex- 
pended upon  the  works.  These  values  are  reflected  almost  entirely 
in  the  rise  in  value  of  land,  and  if  this  increase  of  land  value,  or 
any  large  fraction  of  it,  could  be  promptly  returned  to  the  Govern- 
ment through  any  legal  process,  it  would  afford  a  large  profit  on 
the  investment. 

So  long  as  the  value  that  attaches  to  land  goes  into  private 
pockets  there  appears  to  be  no  escape  from  the  fact  that  the  benefits 
of  all  public  improvements,  including  irrigation  works,  inure  to 
the  benefit  of  landowners  almost  exclusively. 

The  problem  of  excessive  holdings  was  early  attacked  by  the 
officials  of  the  Reclamation  Service,  who  recognized  the  necessity 
of  forcing  the  subdivision  of  large  holdings  and  adopted  a  rule 
by  which  prior  to  taking  up  the  project  the  owners  of  excess  areas 
were  required  to  execute  an  instrument  binding  themselves  to  sell 
the  excess  holdings  in  small  areas  to  persons  eligible  to  acquire 
water  rights,  failing  which  the  Government  was  given  the  right 
to  enforce  its  sale  at  auction  at  the  specified  time.  Such  con- 


VALUES    CREATED  395 

tracts  have  been  enforced  in  a  few  instances,  but  in  others  have 
led  to  long-drawn-out  litigation  with  no  substantial  result.  At 
best,  this  proviso  does  not  prevent  the  selling  of  the  land  at  specu- 
lative prices  which  load  the  settler  with  debt  and  jeopardize  his 
success. 

That  the  benefits  of  the  Government  construction  wrould  in- 
cidentally accrue  to  private  landholders  was  recognized  by  Congress 
when  it  prohibited  the  sale  of  water  rights  to  a  larger  area  than 
160  acres  in  one  holding,  and  this  was  evidently  an  effort  to  pre- 
vent the  acquisition  of  an  unfair  proportion  of  the  benefits  by  one 
landholder.  The  provision,  however,  has  no  effect  on  the  dis- 
tribution of  the  benefits  to  towns  and  cities  in  the  vicinity  whose 
business  has  been  largely  increased  by  the  construction  of  the 
irrigation  project,  resulting  often  in  doubling  or  trebling  land 
values  in  those  cities  in  a  very  short  time.  The  reclamation  law 
affords  no  means  of  recovering  those  values  to  the  reclamation 
fund.  Section  12  of  the  reclamation  extension  act  sought  to 
strengthen  the  hands  of  the  Government  by  requiring  that  private 
holdings  in  excess  of  160  acres  in  new  projects  shall  be  subdivided 
and  sold  at  such  a  price  as  the  Secretary  of  the  Interior  may 
designate,  and  if  not  so  subdivided  shall  be  excluded  from  the 
project.  This  provision  affords  little  relief,  as  it  cannot  be 
applied  to  projects  already  taken  up;  and  wherever  applied, 
though  it  may  limit  the  price  at  which  the  present  holder  can 
sell  his  land,  the  purchaser  who  buys  from  him  may  sell  to  the 
actual  settler  at  such  price  as  he  is  able  to  extort.  It  may  result 
in  the  introduction  of  a  middleman  without  protecting  the  actual 
settler.  The  exclusion  of  the  land,  however,  does  not  prevent 
the  landowner  from  holding  it  at  a  price  that  discounts  the  added 
value  conferred  by  prospective  water  rights,  for  the  logic  of  the 
situation  enables  him  to  convince  ,the  purchaser  that  once  the 
land  is  in  the  hands  of  a  small  holder  the  law  would  not  prevent 
the  purchase  of  water  right,  and  the  economy  of  so  including  the 
area  within  the  project  would  induce  the  Government  to  sell  him 
such  a  water  right. 

A  more  effective  means  of  compelling  large  landholders  to  bear 
their  just  proportion  of  the  cost  of  the  project  is  made  available 
by  the  passage  in  various  States  of  laws  providing  for  the  forma- 
tion of  irrigation  districts.  Under  such  laws  it  is  generally  possible, 
where  a  majority  of  the  landowners  desire  to  provide  funds  for 


396  SETTLEMENT   AND    CULTIVATION 

irrigation  works,  to  force  the  minority  to  assume  their  fair  share 
of  the  burden  through  the  medium  of  taxation. 

Sail  Conditions.— It  has  been  customary  for  the  Reclamation 
Service  to  secure  the  best  soil  experts  available,  usually  from  the 
Bureau  of  Soils,  to  examine  the  soil  of  each  contemplated  project 
and  on  the  basis  of  their  examination  to  classify  the  lands  into 
irrigable  and  non-irrigable  land.  Necessarily  the  dividing  line 
between  fertile  and  infertile  soil  is  very  indefinite,  and  the  best 
of  opinions  will  differ  and  are  apt  to  be  in  error.  Some  cases  have 
occurred  where  tracts  have  been  included  in  the  irrigable  area 
that  have  presented  new  or  unexpected  difficulties  by  reason  of 
their  coarse,  sandy  character,  requiring  an  excessive  amount  of 
water  and  attention,  or,  on  the  other  hand,  of  their  close,  heavy 
texture  or  the  presence  of  too  much  alkali.  Such  conditions  render 
more  difficult  the  subjugation  of  the  soil,  which  at  best  in  a  desert 
region  is  difficult  with  the  limited  means  at  the  disposal  of  the 
average  settler. 

In  some  cases  also  the  rise  of  ground  water,  resulting  from 
over-irrigation  or  seepage  from  canals,  has  destroyed  the  fertility 
of  lands  otherwise  fertile.  The  latter  difficulty  has  been  remedied 
largely  by  the  construction  of  drainage  works,  but  not  until  after 
some  hardship  had  been  suffered  by  some  of  the  settlers. 

It  has  been  the  practice  of  the  department  to  suspend  pay- 
ments upon  lands  that  have  been  injured  by  ground  water  or 
otherwise  proved  to  be  infertile.  These  difficulties  are  some- 
what sporadic,  and  would  usually  not  be  important  if  not  aggra- 
vated by  the  condition  previously  set  forth  of  the  lack  of  capital 
of  the  settler  beset  with  many  burdens. 

The  Extension  Act. — Recognizing  the  difficulties  above  enum- 
erated, Congress  undertook  in  1914  to  meet  the  situation  by  the 
passage  of  the  reclamation  .extension  act,  which,  among  other 
changes  in  the  existing  law,  increased  the  term  of  payment  for 
water  right  from  10  years  to  20  years,  making  the  average  pay- 
ment 5  per  cent  of  the  total  charge,  and  so  graduating  this  as  to 
make  the  payments  lighter  than  this  in  the  early  years. 

This  law  has  resulted  so  far  in  inspiring  new  courage  in  many 
of  the  settlers  and  materially  assisting  them  to  get  on  their  feet, 
not  only  by  leaving  their  capital  with  them,  but  by  improving 
their  credit  through  brightened  prospects.  While  it  is  too  early 
to  predict  all  results  with  accuracy,  it  can  safely  be  said  that  the 


EXTENSION   ACT 


397 


RECLAMATION  FUND  ACCRETIONS  PROM  THE  SALE  OF  PUBLIC  LANDS,  AND 
NET  INVESTMENT,  BY  STATES 


States 

Receipts  from  Sale  of 
Public  Lands 
to  June  30,  1916 

Net  Investment 
to  June  30,  1916 

Arizona  
California  

$1,430,751.22 
6,112,831.91 

$17,393,367.27 
2  979  219  89 

Colorado 

7  763  626  96 

8  854  743  51 

Idaho  

5,680,195.39 

16'572'23983 

Kansas  
Montana  
Nebraska  
Nevada  
New  Mexico 

1,005,257.66 
11,267,402.63 
1,868,670.15 
656,467.25 
4  521  322  88 

376,240.79 
11,317,635.01 

4,797,893.49 
5,786,828.44 
4  681  546  66 

North  Dakota 

12  114  994  05 

1  973  885  18 

Oklahoma  
Oregon 

5,850,169.06 
10  836  127  48 

79,389.84 
4  102  849  93 

South  Dakota  
Texas  
Utah  
Washington  
Wyoming  
Secondary  projects  

7,252,799.95 

'  2,168,556.93 
6,933,957.37 
4,985,200.72 

3,384,398.76 
2,209,086.96 
3,095,629.93 
8,054,533.50 
6,367,332.91 
124,634.17 

Total  

§90,388,331.61 

$102,151,456.07 

IRRIGATION  AND  CROP  RESULTS  ON  GOVERNMENT  PROJECTS,  1915 


VALUE  OF 

CROPS 

Project 

Acreage 

Acreage 

Acreage 

Total 

Per  Acre 
Cropped 

Salt  River  

219,691 

179,350 

171,832 

$3,661,769 

$21.31 

Yuma  

72,440 

27,857 

25,101 

873,721 

34.81 

Orland  
Uncompahgre  Valley.  .  . 
Boise  
Minidoka  
Huntley  
Milk  River  
Sun  River  
Lower  Yellowstone.  .  .  . 
North  Platte  
Truckee-Carson  
Carlsbad  
Hondo 

20,320 
65,000 
150,000 
120,000 
30,813 
22,200 
16,326 
42,329 
129,714 
65,000 
24,796 
3,330 

8,928 
41,463 
76,705 
83,562 
18,203 
4,192 
4,261 
12,656 
70,007 
40,295 
13,470 
1,294 

6,930 
40,553 
69,818 
77,008 
18,185 
3,887 
4,243 
11,990 
68,130 
38,495 
11,322 
1,287 

220,422 
1,044,915 
1,526,873 
1,725,515 
535,363 
51,249 
80,000 
194,011 
1,263,617 
592,523 
245,684 
17,778 

31.81 
25.76 
21.87 
22.41 
29.41 
13.18 
19.00 
16.18 
18.55 
15.39 
21.70 
13.81 

Rio  Grande 

45000 

33,876 

32,246 

1,103,389 

34.22 

Umatilla  

17,000 

5,306 

3,603 

104,653 

29.04 

Klamath  
Belle  Fourche  
Okanogan  
Yakima:  Sunnyside.  .  .  . 
Tieton  
Shoshone 

38,000 
78,591 
10,099 
82,757 
34,000 
42,816 

27,254 
44,067 
7,800 
66,607 
22,000 
25,753 

27,254 
43,063 
4,814 
54,919 
18,100 
24,833 

377,488 
462,050 
254,425 
2,750,326 
668,650 
410,031 

13.85 
10.72 
52.60 
50.08 
37.00 
16.51 

Totals,      reclamation 
projects  

1,472,772 

856,778 

398  SETTLEMENT   AND    CULTIVATION 

chance  of  success  on  many  of  the  projects  is  improved,  both  from 
the  standpoint  of  the  settlers'  welfare  and  of  the  recovery  of  the 
reclamation  fund  from  the  lands  benefited. 

Receipts  and  Investment  by  States. — The  table  on  page  397  gives 
a  statement  of  additions  to  the  reclamation  fund  from  the  sale  of 
public  lands,  by  States,  and  also  shows  the  net  investment  of  the 
Government  for  irrigation  work  in  each  of  the  reclamation  States. 

The  area  for  which  the  Reclamation  Service  was  ready  to 
deliver  water  in  1916  was  in  round  numbers  about  1,500,000 
acres,  while  the  area  actually  irrigated  was  about  900,000  acres. 
Of  the  difference,  600,000  acres,  not  to  exceed  5  per  cent,  was  un- 
entered public  land.  The  following  shows  the  growth  in  seven 
years: 

PROGRESSIVE  RESULTS  OF  RECLAMATION 


Year 

Irrigable 
Acreage  * 

Irrigated 
Acreage 

Irrigated 
Farms 

Cropped 
Acreage 

Crop 
Value 

1909 

730,000 

382,000 

9,000 

1910  
1911  
1912  
1913  
1914  
1915  

880,000 
1,015,000 
1,160,000 
1,200,000 
1,250,000 
1,470,000 

475,000 
560,000 
645,000 
700,000 
770,000 
857,000 

12,000 
14,000 
15,000 
16,000 
18,000 
20,000 

415,000 
470,000 
590,000 
650,000 
700,000 
800,000 

$12,500,000 
13,000,000 
14,500,000 
16,000,000 
16,500,000 
19,000,000 

'  Area  Reclamation  Service  was  prepared  to  supply  water. 


Collections. — The  two    tables  below  give  information  as  to 
collections  that  have  been  made  under  the  reclamation  operations. 

ANALYSIS  OF  CASH  COLLECTIONS  TO  JUNE  30,  1916 


Sources 


Miscellaneous  sales  

$1,933,840.61 
4,428,000.80 
3,330,319.89 
1,040,524.57 
305,102.27 
78,908.71 
4,146,630.35 
2,448,095.09 
38,762.36 

Miscellaneous  services.  .  . 

Temporary  water  rentals  

Power  and  light  

Transportation  refunds  .  .  . 

Forfeitures  by  bidders  and  contractors   .  . 

Water-right  construction  charges  

Water-right  operation  and  maintenance  charges 

Over  disbursements  

Total  

$17,750,184.65 

Total  to 
June  30,  1916 


COLLECTIONS  399 

COLLECTION  OF  WATER-RIGHT  CHARGES  BY  PROJECTS  TO  JUNE  30,   1916 


State  and  Project 

Construction 
Charges 

Operation  and 
Maintenance 
Charges 

Total 

Arizona  :  Salt  River  
Arizona-California:  Yuma.  . 
Idaho:  Minidoka  
Kansas  :  Garden  City  
Montana:  Huntley  
Sun  River  
Mont.-N.  Dakota: 
Lower  Yellowstone  
Nebraska-Wyoming  : 
X   Platte 

$100,000.00 
270,785.26 
441,782.68 
142.50 
270,173.02 
102,685.36 

35,872.20 
352,599.87 

$61,090.33 

310,459.62 
104.50 
115,513.70 
42,407.44 

36,793.97 
330,976.03 

$100,000.00 
331,875.59 
752,242.30 
247.00 
385,686.72 
145,092.80 

72,666.17 
683,575.90 

Nevada:  Truckee-Carson.  .  . 
New  Mexico:  Carlsbad  
North  Dakota: 
N.  Dakota  Pumping  
Oregon'  Umatilla 

296,767.26 
140,368.89 

8,058.05 
206,338.23 

191,944,93 
139,816.49 

13,307.15 
75,202.05 

488,712.19 
280,185.38 

21,365.20 
281,540.28 

Oregon-California  : 
Klamath  

291,082.86 

137,127.96 

428,210.82 

South  Dakota:  Belle  Fourche 
Utah:  Strawberry  Valley.  .  . 
Washington  :  Okanogan  .... 
Wash.  :  Yakima  Storage  .... 
Yakima  Sunnyside.. 
Yakima  Tieton  
Wyoming  :  Shoshone  

168,078.68 
19,827.87 
24,622.55 
200,000.00 
579,422.79 
269,388.61 
268,633.67 

131,448.95 
5,129.23 
36,294.89 

542,674.41 
149,880.44 
127,923.00 

299,527.63 
24,957.10 
60,917.44 
200,000.00 
1,222,097.20 
419,269.05 
396,556.67 

Total  

$4,146,630.35 

$2,448,095.09 

$6,594,725.44 

INDEX 


Ahern,  Jeremiah,  390 

Alice,  Lake,  North  Platte  project,  174 

Alkali  action  on  concrete,  86 

American  River,  53 

Arizona  Canal,  6,  26 

Arrowrock  Dam,  construction  of,  120 

cost  of,  124 

description  of,  114 

sand  cement  used  in,  123 

section  of,  116 

spillway,  117 
Arrowrock  Reservoir,  capacity  of,  113 

control  works,  118 

Avalon  Dam,  Carlsbad  project,  reconstruction,  227 
Avalon  Lake,  225,  226 

Baldwin,  E.  H.,  197,  253,  376 

Ballantyne,  Mont.,  154 

Bear  River,  53 

Belle  Fourche  diversion  dam,  278 

feed  canal,  278 

feed  canal  headgates,  279 

project,  278 

Reservoir,  280 

River,  278 

Benefits  of  irrigation,  395 
Benton  unit,  Yakima  project,  327 
Bersvik,  Lars,  324 
Big  Horn  River,  377 
Big  Stoney  Creek,  57 

diversion  dam,  58 
Black  Hills,  278 

Black  River  diversion,  Carlsbad  project,  228 
Boise  diversion  dam,  description  of,  97 

movable  portion,  98 
Boise  power  plant,  127 
Boise  project,  canals,  127 

chutes  concrete,  127 

description  of,  96 

diversion  dam,  97 

401 


402  INDEX 

Boise  project,  drainage,  cost  of,  133 

drainage  work,  132 

feature  costs  of,  134 

flumes  on,  130 

main  canal,  description  of,  100 

main  canal,  enlargement  of,  102 

main  canal,  lining  of,  104 

pressure  pipes,  128 
Bonstedt,  Ferd,  324 
Bumping  Lake,  326 
Bumping  Lake  Dam,  327 

construction  of,  328 
section  of,  329 

Bumping  Lake  outlet  works,  333 
Bumping  Lake  spillway,  333 
Bui-ch,  A.  N.,  62 
Burley,  Idaho,  135 
Burns  Creek,  superpassage,  165 

Cache  Creek,  53 

California  main  canal,  Yuma  project,  42 

Canal  systems,  Salt  River  Valley,  26 

Capital  needed  by  settlers,  392 

Carlsbad  project,  description,  225 

destruction  and  purchase,  226 
drainage,  230 
reconstruction,  227 

Carson  diversion  dam,  222 

Carson  Lake,  200 

Cascade  Mountains,  325,  333 

Cedar  Creek,  76 

Chandler  substation,  21 

Clealum  Lake,  326 

Clealum  Reservoir,.  326 

Clear  Lake,  272 

Clear  Lake  Reservoir,  271 

Coal  Creek  Canyon,  91 

Cold  Springs  Dam,  construction,  257 
costs,  260 
description,  256 

Cold  Springs  Reservoir,  Umatilla  project,  254 

Cole,  D.  W.,  224,  390 

Collections,  398 

Columbia  River,  325 

Columnar  tunnel,  344,  345 

Conconully  Dam,  311 

construction  of,  316 
dimensions  of,  313 


INDEX  403 


Conconully  Dam,  sections  of,  312 
trestles  on,  315 
Conconully  Reservoir,  311 

elevation  of,  319 

spillway,  318 

Concrete  pipe,  cost  of,  358 
Concrete  pressure  pipe,  Umatilla  project,  262 
Consolidated  Canal,  6,  28 
Corbett  diversion  dam,  384 

cost  of,  387 
Corbett  tunnel,  386 
Cowiche  Creek,  356 
Crop  results,  397 
Crosscut  Canal,  26 
Crosscut  Plant,  30 
Crow  Creek,  280 
Crownover,  C.  E.,  376 

Dam  No.  1,  interstate  canal,  North  Platte  project,  188 

Dark  canyon  pressure  pipe,  Carlsbad  project,  227 

Davis,  B.  H.,  261 

Deer  Flat  Reservoir,  100 

capacity,  104 
construction  of,  106 
seepage  losses  from,  111 

Defects  in  Reclamation  law,  391 

Denver  and  Rio  Grande  Railroad,  66 

Diamond  Creek,  300 

Difficulties  of  the  settlers,  392 

Disintegration  of  concrete,  Uncompahgre  Valley;  86 

Distribution  system,  Salt  River  project,  32 

Drainage  on  Yuma  project,  52 

Dry  Creek,  278 

Duchesne  River,  293 

East  Branch  Canal,  Yuma  project,  48 
East  Canal,  Uncompahgre  project,  92 
East  Park  Dam,  54 

construction  of,  55 
East  Park  feed  canal,  cost  of,  58 

description  of,  57 
East  Park  Reservoir,  54 

cost  of,  57 
feed  canal,  57 
spillway  of,  56 

Elephant  Butte  Dam,  construction,  246 
cost,  250 
description,  240 


404  INDEX 

Elephant  Butte  Dam,  grouting  and  drainage,  245 
sand  cement,  249 
section,  238 
service,  241 

Klcphant  Butte  Reservoir,  capacity,  239 

control  works,  243 
description,  237 

Kinpire,  Nev.,  drainage  area,  206 

Ensign,  O.  H.,  32,  153,  162 

Extension  Act,  396 

Farm  unit,  size  of,  393 

Farmers'  Canal,  6 

Feather  River,  53 

Fernley,  Nev.,  206 

Field,  John  E.,  197 

Floriston,  201 

Fort  Laramie  unit,  North  Platte  project,  197 

Foster,  L.  M.,  230 

Fox  Creek  pressure  conduit,  165 

Franklin  Canal,  Rio  Grande  project,  251 

Fruita,  Colo.,  65 

Garland  Canal,  384 

Garnet  Mesa  siphon,  93 

Geologic  fault  in  Gunnison  tunnel,  78 

Gila  River  Indian  reservation,  20 

Glendive,  Mont.,  163 

Goldfield,  20 

Goshen  Park,  Wyoming,  197 

Goshen  Valley,  Utah,  310 

Grand  Canal,  Salt  River  Valley,  6,  26 

Grand  Junction,  Colo.,  65 

Grand  River,  293 

Grand  River  Dam,  description  of,  66 

movable  portion,  68 
Grand  Valley  project,  cost  of,  71 

description  of,  65 

main  canal,  69 

origin  and  history,  63 

tunnels,  70 
Granite  Reef  diversion  dam,  22 

construction  of,  23 
cost  of,  27 
dimensions  of,  24 
Green  River,  293 
Grouting  foundation,  Lahontan  Dam,  209 


INDEX  405 


Gunnison  River,  74 

diversion  dam,  82 
Gunnison  Tunnel,  74 

construction  of,  78 

cost  of,  83 

progress  in,  80 

Hall,  B.  M.,  230 

Hamlin,  Homer,  52 

Hanna,  F.  W.,  134 

Henny,  D.  C.,  62,  261,  277,  324,  376 

Hermiston,  Oregon,  265 

Heyburn,  Idaho,  135 

High  Line,  Strawberry  project,  308,  310 

High  Line  unit,  Yakima  project,  327 

Highland  Canal,  6 

Hill,  Louis  C.,  32,  52,  253,  310 

Hobble  Creek,  310 

Hondo  project,  N.  M.,  canal  system,  233 

description,  231 
Hondo  Reservoir,  description,  232 

leakage  from,  233 
Hopson,  E.  G.,  261,  277,  324 
Horn,  F.  C.,  134,  153 
Huntley  project,  393 

agricultural  results,  159 

canal  system,  154 

cost  of  direct  pumping  plant,  158 

cost  of  main  and  high  line  canals,  158 

description,  154 

drainage,  160 

water  delivery,  161 

Impulse  wheels,  reasons  for  using,  30 
Indian  Creek,  Strawberry  project,  286 
Indian  Creek  Dike,  298 

cost  of,  300 
Indian  Creek  feed  canal,  299 

intake,  301 

Indian  Creek  diversion,  Boise  project,  100 
Indian  reservation  canal,  42 
Iron  pressure  pipe,  Uncompahgre  Valley,  91 
Ironstone  Canal,  Uncompahgre  project,  92 
Irrigation,  acreage,  3 

history  of,  1 

laws,  concerning,  2 

policy,  2 

practice,  Salt  River  project,  33 


406  INDEX 

Irma  Flat,  Shoshone  project,  377 
Irrigon,  Oregon,  265 

Jackson  Lake,  "Wyoming,  135,  140 

Jacobs,  Joseph,  376 

Joint  Head  diversion  dam,  26 

cost  of,  31 
Juniper  Reservoir  site,  Oregon,  254 

Kachee   Dam,  construction  of,  336 

description  of,  333 

materials  for,  341 

section  of,  335 
Kachees  Lake,  326 
Kachees  Reservoir,  326 
Kachees  River,  334 
Keechelus  Lake,  326 
Keechelus  Reservoir,  326 
Keno  canal  spillway,  276 
Keno  power  canal,  274 
Kittitas  Valley,  327 
Klamath  Falls,  274 
Klamath  Lake,  Lower,  270 

Upper,  270,  274 
Klamath  marshes,  277 
Klamath  project,  270 
Klamath  River,  270 

Laguna  Dam,  changes  in  design,  39 

construction  of,  37 

cost  of,  39 

description  of,  35 

location  of,  34 
Lahontan  Dam,  costs  of,  220 

description,  207 
outlet  works,  215 
power  plant,  212 
sand  cement,  212 
Lahontan  Reservoir,  206 
Lake  Tahoe,  storage  works,  201 
Lawson,  L.  M.,  253 

Leasburg  diversion  dam,  Rio  Grande  project,  236 
Lippincott,  J.  B.,  52,  277 
Little  Stoney  Creek,  53,  54 
Lombard  governors,  18 
Lost  River,  Oregon,  270,  271 
Lost  River  diversion  dam,  272 
Loutzenhizer  Canal,  Uncompahgre  project,  91 


INDEX  407 


Lower  Deer  Flat  Embankment,  108 

slope  protection,  109 

Lower  Yellowstone  Dam,  construction  of,  166 

Lower  Yellowstone  project,  agricultural  results,  170 
description  of,  163 
diversion  dam,  165 
irrigated  areas,  172 
main  canal,  163 
summary  of  costs,  170 

Lytle,  J.  T.,  310 

Mabton  pressure  pipe,  371 
Mack,  Colo.,  65 
Manufacture  of  sand,  13 
Maricopa  Canal,  6 
Martin,  J.  W.,  167 
McConnell,  I.  W'.,  95 
McMillan  Lake,  225,  226 

area  drained,  230 
repairs  to,  229 
sedimentation,  230 
Mesa  Canal,  6 

Mesa  Co.  irrigation  district,  70 
Mesa,  switching  station  near,  20 
Mesilla  diversion  dam,  251 
Mexico,  lands  irrigated  in,  234 
Miller  Buttes,  53 

diversion,  59 
Miner,  J.  H.,  73 
Minidoka  Dam,  cost  of,  138 

description,  135 
spillway,  140 
Minidoka  project,  canal  system,  148 

commercial  power  sub-stations,  146 
cost  of  pumping  stations,  147 
drainage,  151 
general  outline,  135 
power  system,  141 
protection  of  canal  banks,  149 
pumping  plant,  143 
storage  system,  140 
water  delivery,  153 
Minitare  Dam,  construction  of,  192 
cost  of,  193 
description  of,  189 
Minitare  Lake,  Nebraska,  174 
Montrose  and  Delta  canal,  88 
Mora  High  Line,  Boise  project,  100 


408  INDEX 

Mormon  settlers,  291 
Murphy,  D.  W.,  277 

Nampa  meridian  district,  Boise  Valley,  drainage,  132 

Narrows,  The,  295 

New  York  Canal,  Boise  project,  100 

Newell,  H.  D.,  269 

North  Canal,  Belle  Fourche  project,  286 

North  Platte  project,  agricultural  results,  197 
description  of,  173 
diversion  dam,  187 
feature  costs  of,  194 
Fort  Laramie  unit,  197 
sale  of  storage  rights,  195 

North  Yakima,  359 

Northern  Pacific  Railway,  154 

Obstacles  to  irrigation  development,  391 
Ogden  River,  291 
Okanogan  project,  311 

distribution  system,  319 
diversion  weir,  320 
main  canal,  322 
orchards  on,  323 
power  system,  321 
pumping  system,  321 
water  delivery  on,  324 
Okanogan  River,  311 
Orchard  Mesa  irrigation  district,  69 
Orland  project,  description  of,  53 

distribution  system,  60 
diversion  dam,  59 
fishway,  60 
north  canal,  59 
south  canal,  59 
water  delivery,  61 

O'Rourke,  J.  M.,  Construction  Co.,  13 
Owl  Creek,  278 
Owl  Creek  Dam,  281 

pavement  on,  283 
repairs  to,  285 

Pacific  Gas  and  Electric  Co.,  power  delivery  to,  19 

Palisade,  Colorado,  65,  70 

Patch,  W.  W.,  277,  290 

Pathfinder  Dam,  construction  of,  178 

cost  of,  184 

location,  174 

spillway,  185 


INDEX  409 

Pathfinder  Dike,  187 

Pathfinder  Tunnel,  174 

Paul,  Charles  H.,  134 

Pelton  water-wheels,  18 

Penasco  Rock,  Rio  Grande  project,  236 

Percolation  tests,  Lahontan  Dam,  208 

Phcsnix,  City  of,  8,  19 

Pioneer  district,  Boise  Valley,  drainage,  132 

Poe  Valley,  270,  271 

Power  development,  17 

Power  plants,  Salt  River  Valley,  description  of,  30 

Premiums  for  large  output,  Upper  Deer  Flat  Embankment,  107 

Pressure  pipe,  concrete,  Boise  project,  131 

pipes,  Sunnyside  unit,  371 

tunnel,  Yuma  project,  44,  46,  47 
Prosser  pressure  pipe,  372,  374 

Protection  of  canal  banks  against  erosion,  Minidoka  project,  149 
Provo  River,  291 

Pry  or  Creek,  Hunt  ley  project,  154 
Pumping  stations,  21 
Puta  Creek,  53 
Pyramid  Lake,  200 
Pyramid  Lake  Canal,  Truckee-Carson  project,  206 

Quinton,  J.  H.,  95,  224,  310 

Ralston  Reservoir,  386,  388 

Receipts  and  investment,  by  States,  398 

Reclamation,  data  for,  4 

handicaps  of,  4 
precedents  for,  5 

Reclamation  fund,  accretions,  397 
Red  Water  River,  278 
Reed,  W.  M.,  230,  253 
Reedy,  O.  T.,  199 

Reservation  distribution  system,  Yuma  project,  49 
Results  of  reclamation,  398 
Return  seepage  to  Salt  River,  31 
Rio  Grande  project,  description,  234 

diversion  dam,  236 
Rio  Verde,  dam  near  mouth,  22 
Riverside,  Washington,  311 
Roller  Dam,  68 

Boise  project,  cost  of,  98 
Roosevelt  Dam,  analysis  of,  11 

cement  mill,  11 

construction  of,  13 

cost  of,  16 


410  INDEX 

Roosevelt  Dam,  design  of,  9 
location  of,  8 
manufacture  of  sand,  13 
power  development,  17 

Roosevelt  Reservoir,  capacity  of,  8 
description,  7 

Ross,  D.  W.,  134,  153 

Rotation  delivery,  Salt  River  project,  33 

Rupert,  Idaho,  135 

Sacramento  project,  53 

Sacramento  River,  53 

Sage-brush  riprap,  Minidoka  project,  150 

Salmon  Lake,  311 

Salmon  River,  311,  313,  319 

diversion  weir,  320 

Salt  Lake,  291 

Salt  River  canals,  6 

Salt  River  project,  6 

Salt  River  Valley  Canal,  6 

Sand  manufacturing,  cost  of,  13 

Sanders,  W.  H.,  32,  95 

Sanford,  J.  T.,  390 

San  Francisco  Canal,  6 

Savage,  H.  N.,  162,  172,  390 

Schlecht,  W.  W.,  62 

Sellew,  F.  L.,  52 

Settlement  and  cultivation,  391 

Settlement  of  ground  near  Palisade,  Colo,,  70 

Shale  foundations,  settlement  of,  86 

Shoshone  Dam,  379 

construction  of,  383 
foundation,  381 

Shoshone  project,  394 

canal  system,  384 
cost  of  drains  on,  389 
description  of,  377 
diversion  dam,  385 
drainage  on,  386 
storage  on,  378 

Shoshone  Reservoir,  378 

Shoshone  River,  377 

Silting  of  canals,  Minidoka  project,  152 

Siphon  spillway,  Yuma  project,  40 

Snake  River,  135 

Soil  condition,  396 

Somerton  diversion,  Yuma  project,  48 

South  Canal,  Belle  Fourche  project,  287 


INDEX 

South  Canal,  Uncompahgre  project,  86,  88 

concrete  chute  in,  85 
Spanish  Fork_  River,  291,  293,  300 
Spanish  Fork  diversion  dam,  293 
Spring  Creek  mesa,  88 
Stebbins,  W.  A.,  390 
Steeple  tunnel,  34,  352 
St.  John's  Canal,  6 
Stoney  Creek,  53 
Strawberry  Creek,  291,  293 
Strawberry  Tunnel,  300 

construction  of,  303 
control  works,  305 
cross  sections  of,  304 
intake,  302 
lining  of,  308 
stilling  basin,  307 
progress  in,  307 
west  portal,  309 
Strawberry  Valley  Dam,  293,  295 

construction  of,  296 
cost  of,  298 
cross  section  of,  294 
elevation,  294 
power  for,  296 
spillway,  297 
Strawberry  Valley  Project,  291 

control  works,  305 
cost  of,  307 

distribution  system,  307 
diversion  dam,  293 
high  line,  308,  310 
power  development,  291 
Strawberry  Valley  Reservoir,  293,  300 
Suisun  Bay,  53 
Sulphur  Creek  wasteway,  368 
Sunnyside  Canal,  360 

enlargement  of,  363 
structures  of,  365 

Sunnyside  diversion  dam,  361,  364 
Sunnyside  unit,  Yakima  project,  327,  359 

enlargement,  360 
Swigart,  Charles  H.,  376 

Taylor,  L.  H.,  224 

Taylor  Park  Reservoir,  93 

Tempe  Canal,  6 

Three-Mile  Falls  diversion  dam,  265,  268 


412 


INDEX 


Tieton  canal  lining,  347 

canal  sections,  345 

distribution  system,  356 

diversion  dam,  343 

headworks,  343 

main  canal,  351 

Reservoir,  326 

tunnels,  344 

unit,  Yakima  project,  342 

wasteways,  355 
Tonto  Basin,  8 
Towers,  transmission,  19 
Trail  Creek  tunnel,  344,  353 
Trail  Hollow  feed  canal,  299 
Transmission  line,  Roosevelt,  19 
Truckee-Carson  project,  200 

construction  cost,  224 
Truckee  main  canal,  202,  218 

capacity  of,  205 
grades  on,  205 
headworks,  205 
Tule  Lake,  270,  271,  272 

Umatilla  project,  Cold  Springs  Dam,  256 

Cold  Springs  Reservoir,  254 
concrete  pressure  pipe,  262 
description,  254 
distribution  system,  261 
diversion  dam,  255 
storage  feed  canal,  255 
Three-Mile  Falls  diversion  dam,  265 
.  west  extension,  265 

Uncompahgre  project,  canal  system,  82 
cost  of,  9 
description  of,  74 
private  canals  under,  88 
south  canal,  82 
Uncompahgre  River,  7 
Uncompahgre  Valley,  7 
Upper  Deer  Flat  Embankment,  104 

cost  of,  108 

premium  for  large  output,  107 
slope  protection,  109 
Utah  Canal,  6 
Utah  Lake,  291 

Valley  power  plants,  description  of,  30 
Values  created,  394 
Vincent,  E.  D.,  52 


INDEX  413 


Walcott  Lake,  140,  152 

Walter,  R.  F.,  73,  199,  290 

Wapato  unit,  Yakima  project,  327 

Wasatch  Range,  291,  293,  300 

Water  delivery,  Salt  River  project,  33 

Weber  River,  291 

Weir,  Joint  Head,  31 

Weiss,  Andrew,  199 

Wells,  C.  E.,  199 

West  Branch  Canal,  Yuma  project,  48 

West  Mountain,  313 

Weymouth,  F.  E.,  134,  172 

Whalen  diversion  dam,  187 

Whistler,  J.  T.,  261 

Wiley,  A.  J.,  134,  172,  261 

Williams,  C.  P.,  390 

Wilson's  Bridge,  272 

Winnemucca  Lake,  200 

Wisner,  George  Y.,  32,  95 

Woodward  governors,  18 

Wright,  Joseph,  167 

Yakima  project,  Washington,  325 
Benton  unit,  327 
High  Line  unit,  327 
Kittitas  unit,  327 
reservoirs  on,  326 
Sunnyside  unit,  327,  359 
Tieton  unit,  327,  342 
units  of,  326 
Wapato  unit,  327 
water  rights  on,  325 
Yakima  River,  325 
Yakima  Valley,  325 
Yellowstone  River,  154,  165 
Yuba  River,  53 
Yuma  project,  canal  system,  39 

cost  of  main  canal,  44 
description  of,  34 
distribution  system,  49 
diversion  dam,  35 
drainage,  52 
levee  system,  50 
pressure  conduit,  44 
structures  on  main  canal,  42 
Yuma  Mesa,  50 

Yuma  Valley,  bottom  lands  of,  50 
Yuma  Valley  canals,  48 

Zillah  wasteway,  367 


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